


Young Volcanoes

by divergentrebel13



Category: Divergent Series - Veronica Roth
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-17
Updated: 2017-10-15
Packaged: 2018-01-16 03:26:55
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 28
Words: 90,519
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1330162
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/divergentrebel13/pseuds/divergentrebel13
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Set one year after Tris' initiation into Dauntless. Tris is now helping Four train the initiates. Will things go as smoothly as her own initiation? Divergent AU *Possible Insurgent/Allegiant spoilers*</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

DISCLAIMER: All rights to _Divergent_ belong to Veronica Roth. No copyright infringment is intended. 

**__ **

**_ Young Volcanoes _ **

_Tonight the foxes hunt the hounds, and it’s all over now before it has begun. We’ve already won .We are wild, we are like young volcanoes ~ Fall Out Boy, Young Volcanoes_

**_Chapter 1_ **

****

            The sound of the shower wakes me up in the morning. I squint my eyes open and see the door cracked open just a tiny bit, steam billowing out of the room. One of the things I’ve noticed since moving in with Tobias six months ago was that when a room is smaller than a certain size, he doesn’t close the door completely.

            Our bathroom, for example, is just big enough for a shower, toilet, and sink. Tobias avoids closing himself in there as often as he can. A result of his childhood trauma caused by his father, Marcus, abusing him and his mother ever since he was a small child.

            I don’t mind it though. I like knowing things about him that no one else does.

            I’m fully awake now so I decide to go and join Tobias in the shower to save time. I have to be at the tattoo parlor in an hour, and I know he has to get to the Control Room then, too.

            It took me months to be comfortable enough to be with Tobias. It was five months after I officially became a Dauntless member that we finally made love, and it was the best night of my life. Of course, it was weird and awkward but it is a night I will always cherish with him. And things have definitely improved in that department with time.

            I undress on my way to the shower and quietly pull the curtain back and join him.

            “Good morning,” Tobias says as he wraps his arms around my waist and gives me a gentle kiss on my lips.

            “Morning,” I say with a smile.

            His hands explore the skin of my back as he kisses each of the three birds I have tattooed on my collarbone.

            “I’d love to stay and continue this, but we have places to be,” he says with a boyish pout on his lips. With that said, he gets out of the shower to get ready while I finish my own shower.

            Today is the day before new initiates arrive, and this year I’ll be helping Tobias train the transfers while Christina and Will train the Dauntless-born initiates. I am nervous, but excited at the same time. I do not know if the initiates will see me as an authority figure as much as people see Tobias that way. He exudes power and strength and embodies what everyone sees the Dauntless should be. While I have grown a little, I’m still short and bony.

            I push the thoughts from my mind and get out of the shower to get ready for my day.

 

~.~.~

            After I was officially a Dauntless member I decided I wanted to work in the tattoo parlor. When I was growing up I would hide drawings in my school notes. Drawing didn’t serve the needs of others and was frowned upon in Abnegation. Working in the tattoo parlor also means I get a lot of information out of the people I’m working on. Most of the time they’re drunk and will sputter off information they would not tell you in the first place. Information that may come in handy in the future.

            It’s a little after noon when I finally leave to go to lunch. I see Tobias, Christina, Will, Uriah, Zeke, Lynn, Marlene, and Shauna are all already here. I get my tray of food and go and sit next to Tobias, who puts his hand behind my head to lean me into him so he can place a soft kiss on my forehead when I sit down.

            “Can you two not be all… in love all the time?” Lynn says as she takes a bite of her burger. I can already feel the heat rising in my cheeks and know my face is bright red.

            The Abnegation in me is always embarrassed whenever Tobias shows me any affection in public, but the Dauntless – and the girl – in me revel in him not being afraid to let people know we are together.

             “I was thinking of something earlier,” I start, looking at Tobias as he takes a sip of his water.

            “Always dangerous,” I hear Zeke mutter, and then Uriah laugh. Their laughter dies down after Tobias glares at them.

            “I was thinking that I wanted to have the initiates call me Six,” I say, looking at Tobias to see his reaction.

            “What’s wrong with Tris?” he asks, his brows furrowing together.

            “I just don’t know if they’re going to take me seriously. I’m small and I don’t have the same presence that you do. I thought Six might make me seem a little more Dauntless to them,” as I say the words I realize how stupid of an idea it was and regret ever bringing it up in the first place.

            “Forget it, its –“ I start to say, but Tobias cuts me off.

            “It’s a good idea. They need to take you seriously, and if you think changing your name for them will help, then do it.”

            “I still don’t think it’s fair that you two have so few fears. It just seems impossible,” Christina says, a hit of bitterness in her voice.

            “Well, not everyone has fully realized the true danger behind moths,” I say with a smirk on my face.

            “Shut up!” Christina shouts as she smacks my arm.

 

~.~.~

 

            It’s getting late, and I am the last person left at the tattoo parlor. I am just about to lock up when I see Tobias enter.

            “What are you doing here?” I ask as he comes into the back where I am.

            “This is a tattoo parlor. I’m here for a tattoo,” he tells me.

            In the year that I have known him, Tobias has never gotten a new tattoo. It surprises me that he wants a new one now.

            “You want _me_ to tattoo you?” the idea seems strange at first, but the more I think about it, the more I like the idea that something I create would be on his body forever.

            He walks over to the drawing table and writes something on a piece of paper before coming back to me.

            “Yes. This,” he hands me the piece of paper, with a simple “VI” written on it. It is an ancient way of writing numbers that I recognize from school. VI means six.

            “Six. Why do you want this?” I ask, even though I already know the answer.

            “You know why,” Tobias says as he sits on the chair and puts his arm on the armrest, palm up, “right here,” he says as he points to the inside of his wrist.

            I quickly draw up a simple sketch of the symbol and then turn on the tattoo gun. It doesn’t take long to finish the two letters.

            “I like watching you work,” Tobias says as I wrap up his wrist. Just like this afternoon with Lynn, I feel my face start to heat up.

            “Pack up your things and we can go home,” he says, but I have another idea.

            “Have you ever used a tattoo gun before, Tobias?” I say with a smile

            “I can’t say that I have,” he says with a skeptical look on his face.

            I take the piece of paper he drew his design on, and write “IV” on it and hand it to him.

            “Well, it’s a good thing you’re a fast learner. I want this,” I point to the design, “right here,” I say as I point to the inside of my wrist.

            Tobias smirks as he walks over and practices the design at the drawing table, and then picks up the new tattoo gun and needle that I just set up.

            He turns it on and practices moving his hand around with the gun in his hand. Once he seems satisfied that he has the hang of it, he reaches for my wrist and starts. Even though he has never done this before, it does not take him long to finish my tattoo.

            He smiles up at me when he is satisfied with is work, and wraps my wrist the same way I wrapped his.

            I clean up everything that I need to and we make our way up to our apartment, hand in hand.

            We get inside and Tobias immediately shuts the door, my back against it before I know what’s happening. His lips mold to mine, and his hands hold my face against his.

            Even though we both need sleep for our long day tomorrow, we don’t fall asleep until the early hours of the morning.


	2. Chapter 2

**_Chapter 2_ **

 

            I lay in bed, thinking about what today will bring. Today is the Choosing Ceremony for every sixteen year old in our city. Today we will be getting more than ten possible initiates, though only ten will become true Dauntless members.

            I remember the moment I found out that only ten people would become members, and the rest of the initiate class would become Factionless. I did not think I had a chance at beating any of the people around me. Even though transfers surrounded me, I didn’t think I was strong enough to make it through initiation.

            I was wrong.

            I was the first jumper of our initiation class. I beat Molly in our fight. I only have six fears. I came in first, just like Tobias did when he was an initiate.

            I feel Tobias shift on the bed; his arm reaches down to slide under his black t-shirt that I am wearing to rest on the skin of my stomach.

            “Big day today,” he whispers right next to my ear before pressing a soft kiss behind my ear. He starts to rub his hand across my stomach.

            “Mmm. Are you _sure_ me helping you train the transfers is a good idea?” I still have doubts that anyone will take me seriously as an instructor, and Tobias seemed to do just fine training us alone last year.

            “Yes. But, that’s not why I think it’s a big day,” even though I can’t see him, I can hear the smirk in his voice. “One year ago today, I met you.”

            I turn in bed, his hand that was on my stomach before now moves to the small of my back. I look into his deep blue eyes and press my lips to his.

            This is the Tobias I know. He is different from the Four that everyone else sees every day. He is fierce, loyal, protective, and even has his romantic moments like this one.

            Our kisses increase in ferocity, but the alarm going off before anything more interesting can happen.

I still have one more shift at the tattoo parlor before I start training. Tobias will meet the initiates at the net while I am still working. After he gives them the tour I will meet them all at dinner.

I get up to take a shower while Tobias stays in bed. He doesn’t have to go into the Control Room today, and still has hours before he even has to think about going down to the net to meet the initiates.

I come out of the bathroom fifteen minutes later still wrapped in my towel and notice that Tobias has fallen back asleep. I smile at how young and innocent he looks while he is sleeping.

I go over to our little closet to figure out what to wear. It may seem silly, but I want to look my part as an instructor to the initiates. I choose a pair of tight black leather pants Christina made me get; I believe she called them “leggings.” I pair the leggings with a longer, flowy, black tank top and a black pair of boots. I apply a small amount of makeup, just the black eyeliner that Christina, once again, convinced me to get.

I walk over to the bed and lean down to give Tobias a soft kiss before I leave even though he is still asleep. Right when I’m about to pull away his arms wrap around my back and pull me onto the bed where his body immediately traps mine underneath his.

“What are you doing?” I try to say, but it comes out a jumbled mess between his kisses.

            “How about instead of you leaving now we spend the rest of the day in bed before the initiates get here?” he asks, his hands already working their way beneath my clothing.

            “Tobias, I have to go. I’ll see you at lunch before the initiates get here!” I say, my arms weakly trying to push him off of me. I don’t want to go. I want to stay here with him. Right when I’m about to let him have his way with me he pulls away.

            “I’m sorry. I’ll see you soon,” he says with a smirk on his face before giving me one more small peck and lifting himself off of me.

            “That was mean, and I’m going to get you back for that,” I glare at him as I smooth out my clothes again. He knew I was about to give in.

             “I can’t wait,” he says before he lies back down.

 

~.~.~

 

            It has been a pretty slow day so far. I already had lunch with Tobias a few hours ago, so now all I have left to do is anxiously wait until it is time for me to meet him and the new initiates for dinner.

            I look up and see Zeke walking into the tattoo parlor, a large smirk on his face.

            “Six! Time to put those hands to work!” he’s already drunk, I can tell by the way his words are slurred together, and he can not seem to walk in a straight line.

            “Already starting the festivities, Zeke?” I ask as he plops himself down in the chair in front of me.

            “Hell, yeah!” he says before putting his arm in front of me.

            “What do you want?”

            “Surprise me!” he says before he starts to hum a familiar tune. It reminds me of the night after my initiation banquet.

 

**FLASHBACK**

 

_After our first public kiss after they announced the final rankings Tobias invited me to Zeke’s later. Apparently he has started a tradition of throwing a party every year after the initiation banquet._

_Tobias leaves me with my friends and tells me he will meet me in front of the transfer dormitories in an hour._

_I turn around to tell Christina about the party and see her and Will staring at me. It is then that I realize that they were watching as I kissed Tobias._

_I walk over and say, “Apparently Zeke, Uriah’s brother, is having a party. Are you guys coming?”_

_“You. . . and Four?_ You _and Four?” is all Christina seems to be able to say._

_“We can talk about it later. We have an hour before the party,” I’m hoping avoiding her questions will eventually make her forget all about it, but I know that wont happen._

_To me, a relationship is something that’s just between two people. Others should not have any say in our relationship. It’s just him and me._

_We all walk back to the dormitories in an awkward silence. Christina still can’t seem to process the information she has just received, while Will is just happy to be done with initiation._

_Right when we enter the dormitory Christina ushers me into the girls bathroom._

_“Okay, spill!” she says as she pulls out her makeup bag. I will never understand why one person would need that much makeup, but Christina insists all of it is necessary._

_“We’re together,” is the only thing I can think to say._

_“Oh, come on, Tris! I need more than that! He’s your boyfriend now? When did this happen? Have you kissed? Have you-“_

_“Yes, he is my boyfriend, yes – obviously – we have kissed, but I do not want to know what the next question is. You know what one of my fears was, I think you can figure out the answer to that question.”_

_“Oh, right,” she says as she finishes her makeup. She then situates me in front of her before I can protest and starts to apply all sorts of things to my face._

_She doesn’t seem upset about my new relationship, so I let her put whatever she wants to on my face. I don’t want her or anyone else to think I came in first just because of Tobias. I earned that spot._

_It doesn’t take Christina long to get distracted by the process of choosing herself a new outfit for the party. I’m sticking with my plain black jeans and t-shirt._

_I went to sit on my bed to wait for Christina to get ready and for Tobias to come get us. Just as I sit down the door opens and Tobias walks in._

_“No! I’m not ready yet!” Christina shouts from the bathroom where she is trying on different outfits._

_“You guys go ahead, I’ll wait for her,” Will says with a smirk on his face, his eyes shifting between Tobias and me._

_I stand up and walk over to the doorway where he is waiting and take his hand. With that, we walk out of the room and close the door behind us._

_“Wait. I wanted to give you this,” he says before dropping a chain in my palm._

_I hold it up and realize it is a necklace. The chain is long with a small black heart made out of stone at the bottom with some kind of intricate design engraved in it. It is beautiful._

_“I found it in the Pit a few days ago and I just thought-“ I stop him from talking by pressing a quick kiss to his lips._

_“It’s perfect. Thank you… Put it on me?” I ask as I pull my hair to the side and turn around so he can clasp the necklace behind me._

_We make our way up to Zeke’s apartment, which is bigger than Tobias’ place because he will now be living with Uriah. When we get there the party is already in full swing, which means everyone there is already on their second drink at least._

_“Four! And your new lady friend! Aren’t you going to introduce us?” Zeke says as he stumbles over to meet us. I already met him when we went zip lining, but he either doesn’t remember or wants to embarrass Tobias._

_“You already know Tris, Zeke,” Tobias says as he puts his arm around my shoulder and leads me over to the couch in the corner. He tells me to sit while he goes to get us something to drink._

_I have never had alcohol before. Obviously, alcohol isn’t a big commodity in Abnegation, but I knew it was popular among the Dauntless._

_Tobias comes back with two bottles in his hands and sits next to me. He leans back on the couch, possibly the most relaxed I have ever seen him. I feel his hand on my shoulder, pulling me back into the couch, “You can relax here, you know,” he says before taking a swig of his drink._

_I settle back into the couch and take a sniff of the bottle in my hand before I take a small sip of it. Much to my surprise, it actually tastes pretty good._

_“Like it?”_

_“Yes,” I say with a smile as I take a bigger drink._

_Throughout the night I am introduced to some other people Tobias knows, but he does not seem too close to them. I can tell that the closest friend he seems to have is Zeke._

_After about an hour, and a few drinks, I am much more relaxed. Tobias is on the couch talking with Zeke and a few other guys while I’m across the room talking with Christina, Lynn, Marlene, and Shauna._

_I see someone come out of a room holding a guitar. I have only ever seen the instruments that the Amity play, I didn’t know Dauntless had any instruments._

_“What’s going on?” I ask, pointing over at the boy who just handed Tobias the guitar._

_“Oh, Zeke probably convinced Four to play ‘Young Volcanoes.’ It’s some old song a bunch of Dauntless wrote a long time ago. Amar, Four’s instructor during his initiation, taught it to him. He hates playing it, but if you get him drunk enough he’ll usually play,” Lynn says._

_I walk over to join the small crowd that has started to form around the couch and push my way through to the front. I see Tobias sitting on the couch with Zeke sitting on the armrest. He looks up at me and gives me a boyish smirk then starts to play and everyone around him starts to clap to the beat._

 

_Tonight the foxes hunt the hounds,_

_And it's all over now before it has begun,_

_We've already won._

_We are wild, we are like young volcanoes_

_It was then, after Tobias finished that song, that I realized I didn’t have to worry anymore; I was surrounded by my new family._

**END FLASHBACK**

            I finished Zeke’s tattoo and had already started to wrap it up before he realized he didn’t know what exactly I had done on him. I unwrapped his forearm and showed him that I put “Young Volcano” in bold letters across his forearm.

            “I knew you wouldn’t disappoint, Six!” he shouts before stumbling off after a friend of his who had called his name.

            I looked at the clock and realized that it was already time for me to go to dinner and meet our new initiates for the first time.


	3. Chapter 3

**_Chapter 3_ **

 

            I walk into the dining hall and my eyes immediately land on Tobias. I can see the scowl on his face as the initiates ask him questions. Some would probably find it intimidating, but I think its kind of adorable. He is sitting with who I assume are our new transfer initiates. I see Christina and Will sitting with some Dauntless-born initiates. I recognize Hector, Lynn’s younger brother.

            As I walk over to the table, I notice one of the transfers look at me, and then nudge the boy next to him and whisper something to him.

            Tobias notices their interaction and looks over to see what, or more accurately who, he was looking at. He smiles at me as I get closer to the table.

            “Initiates, this is Six. Your other instructor,” he says as I take my seat next to him. I feel his hand rest on my leg under the table where no one else can see and give me a reassuring squeeze.

            “We’ve got eight transfers this year. Jason, Taylor, Derek, and Kate from Candor; Pete, Charles, and Holly from Erudite; and Iris from Abnegation,” he says, his eyes drifting to my face after he says there is an Abnegation transfer. It is interesting that there is another Abnegation transfer this year. Tobias and I are the only ones who have transferred to Dauntless from Abnegation.

            “What’s with the numbers as names thing? Does everyone here have a number for a name?” Kate, one of the Candor transfers, asks, eying me skeptically.

            “No,” is all I say as I start to eat the burger that Tobias had brought to the table for me.

            Ever since I sat down, the boy who looked at me as I was walking in has not stopped staring at me. I think Tobias said his name was Jason. He has short brown hair, and eyes so dark they almost look black.

            “Do you have a problem?” I ask, raising one of my eyebrows at him.

            “Why do you have the Abnegation symbol tattooed on your shoulder?” he asks, eying my tattoo.

            “You’re awfully nosey for a former Candor. Keep up with the questions and people will think you were Erudite,” I say before changing the subject, “So, who was the first jumper?” I ask, looking over all of the initiates.

            “Me.” I look at the girl who spoke; she has long black hair and is wearing Erudite blue. I can see how proud she is that she was the first jumper in her eyes. I think Tobias said her name was Holly.

            “Good job,” I say, nodding my head in here direction.

            “Who was the first jumper last year?” Iris, the Abnegation girl, asks.

            “Six,” Tobias says, his voice almost sounds proud.

            “Oh, this is your first year here?” Iris asks, looking at me as if she is scared to ask me the question. Maybe I am more intimidating than I thought.

            “Yes,” I say, picking up my water and taking a sip.

            “What’s on your wrist? It matches his almost,” Kate, one of the Candor transfers, asks as she looks at the IV tattooed on the inside of my wrist. She then waves in Tobias’ direction, I assume in an effort to point out his VI tattoo.

            We agreed we were not going to flaunt our relationship in front of the initiates in an effort to keep it somewhat of a professional relationship with them. I thought we would be able to get through initiation without them finding out we were together. I do not know why it bothers me for them to know, but it does.

            Before either of us can answer her, Charles, one of the Erudite transfers says, “It’s an ancient way of writing numbers. Hers says ‘four’ and his means ‘six.’”           

There is a thump next to me as Zeke stumbles over and falls in the chair beside me. He slings his arm around my shoulder, leaning in so he can hear what we are saying.

            “Welcome to Dauntless, young ones. Good luck with these two, though,” he says, waving between Tobias and I.

            “You’re drunk, Zeke. Go drink some water or something,” Tobias says, staring warily at his friend. He isn’t really supposed to be interacting with the initiates, but his drunken mind cannot seem to remember that tiny detail. Tobias flops Zeke’s arm off of my shoulder, his fingers lingering a little too long in its place.

            “I’m fine. Six wouldn’t have tattooed me if I were too drunk! Right, Six?” he asks with a boyish smirk on his face. When I first started working at the tattoo parlor I would not tattoo any of my friends while they were drunk, I didn’t want them to be marked with something permanent that they thought was a good idea when they were drunk. I made an exception for Zeke tonight, he did not seem that bad when he came in. I’m just thankful that even in his drunken haze he has remembered to call me Six.

            “That was an hour ago,” I say smirking at Zeke before I take a sip of my water.

            “I’m not as drunk as you were that night I found you and Four going at it in the corner-“

            I cannot hear anything else he says over my coughing from choking on my water. I collect myself and punch his arm where it is wrapped from his new tattoo. He lets out a surprisingly girlish screech and stumbles away. I can feel my face heat up and I know it is bright red by now.

“So, that’s how you got through your initiation,” I hear Jason mumble and then see Pete and Derek, another Candor initiate, nod their heads in understanding.

I see Tobias’ head snap in his direction, a menacing glare on his face. But, before he can say anything I ask, “Excuse me?” before looking between all three of them.

“You just don’t look tough enough to be Dauntless. You’re just a little girl.” Jason says, his eyes smugly looking over me as if he were reminding himself that I do look like a little girl.

“I earned my spot in Dauntless, just like all of you are going to have to do. You would do well to remember who decides your rankings. There are eighteen total initiates, only ten of you will get through. Never forget that.” I say, my own voice surprising me. I do not know if I have ever sounded that menacing before, but it seems to prove my point when all of their faces get a little paler at the reminder that only ten of them will get through initiation.

            I look at Tobias next to me who is still glaring at Jason. I can already tell it is going to be hard for him to control his temper around Jason.

 

~.~.~

 

            Tobias and I walked the initiates to their dormitory. We told them to be ready for step one of initiation tomorrow morning. Tomorrow we would be teaching them how to shoot.

            After the door to the initiate’s dormitory closed Tobias wraps his arm around my waist and leads me to the pit.

            “Are you okay?” he asks on our way.

            “Yeah. I’ll be fine,” I say, wrapping my arm around his waist and breathing in his scent.

            “You know it’s not true,” he says as we continue to walk toward the pit.

            I don’t say anything to him. Sometimes I feel like the only reason I survived initiation _was_ because of Tobias. Not necessarily that he judged me differently than the others, just that he may have helped me more. He pushed me harder, and gave me an even bigger reason to fight to be in Dauntless. Even though being Factionless would be terrible, losing Tobias and my ability to be with him would be a hundred times worse. 

            After a few seconds of silence Tobias stops walking and eases me back against the wall. I look around to make sure there is no one around watching us; thankfully I do not see anyone.

            He puts both of his hands on both of my cheeks and forces my eyes to meet his as he says, “You earned your spot here, Tris. You fought hard for your spot. Never doubt yourself.”

            He moves his hands down to my neck before kissing each of my cheeks and then my lips softly. He then steps back and takes my hand in his before walking us to the pit in silence.

            I see Christina, Will, Uriah, and Marlene as we enter and walk over to them. Uriah hands Tobias and I both a drink.

            “We’re each drinking two and then hitting the training room. We’re going to see who has the best aim drunk!” Marlene says excitedly. It is obvious she has already had her two drinks.

            “Sounds safe,” I say with a smirk. Safety is the last thing anyone here thinks of before making a decision.

            Tobias and I quickly catch up to the others before we make our way to the training room. Zeke and Shauna are already there. Zeke, thankfully, seems to have sobered up a little bit and has the presence of mind to at least look a little guilty when he sees us.

            “Hey, man, I’m –“ he starts to say to Tobias, but he holds his hand up to stop him.

            “No worries. Your comment wasn’t the worst thing said at that table tonight.”

            With that, Zeke starts to hand each of us guns. Thankfully someone was smart enough to think to use plastic pellets instead of real bullets in case things go awry.

            Tobias is on my left, Christina on my right, with Will, Uriah, Marlene, Zeke, and Shauna going down the row. We all start to shoot.

            Once we’re all out of shots we start to compare targets. It is obvious Tobias is the best shot; all of his are within an inch of the center. What surprises me is that I seem to have come in second.

 

~.~.~

 

It is not that much later that Tobias and I find ourselves tucked into our warm bed. We left the others in the training room, shooting plastic pellets at each other.

Right after I became an official Dauntless member I was given my own apartment. It was strange living alone; I had never done that before. I went from my parents’ house to the transfer’s dormitories. But, even though I had my own apartment I was never there alone for a long time.

After having to keep our relationship a secret for so many weeks, Tobias and I were happy that we could be seen out together, that we could hold hands without worrying that someone would see.

If neither of us were working, we were more than likely together. Either he would spend the night at my apartment, or I would spend the night with him. Eventually we realized we were practically living together already, so I moved into Tobias’ apartment.

I was glad we chose his to stay in. The apartment was very _Tobias_. It was a place that I always knew I would be safe in. The only thing we changed was the bed. We traded in his smaller one-person bed for a bigger one. Not only was it more comfortable to sleep in, it definitely made certain…activities easier.

Going to sleep next to Tobias is one of my favorite parts of the day. Sometimes we just lie next to each other surrounded by a comfortable silence. It’s nice that we do not need to talk to fill the silence, we are comfortable enough to just enjoy each others company.

I lay my head over Tobias’ heart; I can hear its low _thump thump_ in his chest.

He leans his head down to kiss the top of mine before whispering, “I love you,” into my hair.

I lean up and kiss his throat before we both fall asleep.


	4. Chapter 4

**_Chapter 4_ **

****

            I wake to the feel of Tobias’ lips covering my face is soft kisses. I know it is early, and probably time for us to start getting ready, but I keep my eyes closed to prolong our time in bed together.

            “I know you’re awake,” he whispers in my ear, his fingertips tracing underneath my eyes.

            “No, I’m not,” I say before I open my eyes to see his face directly above my own, his blue eyes shining with mischief. Unfortunately, we don’t have time to partake in any mischief.

            We both quickly shower and get ready. Tobias puts on black jeans, boots, and a black t-shirt that hugs his muscles just enough to make me wish we had more time before we had to meet the initiates in the training room.

            I put on a pair of black shorts, a plain black t-shirt, and grab one of Tobias’ hoodies. He grabs my hand and we start to make our way down to the training room to make sure everything is set up for target practice.

            As we are walking down to the training room we pass Christina and Will on their way to start training the Dauntless-born initiates.

            “Jeez, don’t look too excited, Tris,” Will says as we pass them.

            “Shut up,” Tobias and I say at the same time.           

            “Wow. They really are meant for each other,” Christina says with a giggle before all of us continue on our way.

            When we get to the training room we set up nine targets, eight for the initiates and one for us to demonstrate with. Just as I am pulling out the rack of guns to pass out, the initiates enter.

            Tobias gives them the same speech he gave us last year about the stages of initiation as I pass out the guns to the initiates.

            As I hand Jason a gun I hear him mutter what sounds like, “Thanks…Stiff.”

            I grab a gun off of the rack and point it at his head. His eyes widen and his mouth pops open in an ‘o’ shape. The room is suddenly silent.

            “How Dauntless do I look to you now?” I ask as I click a bullet into place without taking my eyes off of Jason’s.

            “You’re holding a loaded weapon while someone has a gun pointed at your head. If you expect to make it through training you’ll have to work a hell of a lot harder,” I say before I lower the gun and continue to pass them out to the rest of the initiates.

            I push the cart out of the way and go hand Tobias a gun so he can instruct the initiates how to shoot.

            The next few hours are filled with shot after shot as the initiates practice shooting. I do not miss the glares that Jason throws my way every few minutes. He obviously did not appreciate my comment, but I did not appreciate his either.

            “Is it bad that I’m actually hoping he doesn’t make it through initiation?” I ask Tobias, my words loud enough so only he can hear them.

            “Not at all. You think I wanted Peter to make it through?” he says with a glare. I can tell his mind took him back to the night he saved me from Peter, Drew, and Al. I reach down and give his hand a quick squeeze before releasing it.

            We break for lunch and start to walk to the dining hall. When we enter, Tobias and I walk over to sit with Christina, Will, Lynn, Marlene, and Uriah.

            “Damn Tris, what did you do to make that kid hate you so much?” Uriah asks. I look behind me and notice that Jason is still glaring at me from across the room.

            “He called her a Stiff so she pointed a gun at his head,” Tobias says very matter-of-factly. He sits back in his chair and tosses his arm over my shoulder, his hand rubbing my arm and soothing away all of my anger toward Jason.

            “Way to go, Tris!” Lynn shouts and holds her hand up for me to slap. I do, which results in a loud snap to echo in the dining hall.

Lynn has always thought that female Dauntless members are never treated with the same respect as the male members. She is always the first to stand up to people who put others down.

            “Remind me never to get on any of these girls’ bad side,” I hear Will murmur to Uriah, who nods in agreement.

            “You know, if you want to seem more Dauntless maybe you should get something pierced?” Christina asks. By the look on her face I can already see the wheels turning in her head.

            “Oh! We should get our noses pierced! We’ll do it tonight after dinner!” Christina exclaims, her face lighting up at the prospect of it.

            “I don’t know…” I say mostly to myself as Christina continues to talk about our future piercings.

            I feel Tobias lean his head down next to my ear and hear him whisper, “I think a tiny little stud right...there,” he taps the side of my nose, ”would be pretty sexy.”

            No one except Tobias has ever thought that I am sexy. Even growing up in Abnegation I knew I was exceptionally plain and boring. I’m tiny and short and pretty much built like a boy, but in Tobias’ eyes I am beautiful and that is enough for me.

            I turn my head to smile at Tobias as he leans down to place a soft kiss on my lips.

            “A kiss is not something you do in public,” Christina says, her voice trying to intimidate my own. I remember saying the exact same thing our first day as initiates when Edward kissed Myra.

 

~.~.~

 

            After lunch we take the initiates into the arena, it is time for us to teach the initiates some fighting techniques before they start to fight each other tomorrow.

            Tobias shows them the same few punches he showed us on our first day, and the initiates start to practice against their punching bags.

            We start to walk around the room and I stop in front of Iris to watch her. She is built similar to me; so I know she must be feeling intimidated right now.

            “You’re small, like me. Use your knees and elbows,” I say, remembering Tobias telling me the same thing before he placed his hand over my stomach. I watch her for a few more minutes as she practices; she seems to have gotten a little more confident in her movements.

            After they have practiced for a while Tobias calls me into the ring.

            “Tomorrow, you’ll fight each other.” Tobias says, looking at me, “We’re going to show you a few combinations that may help you.”

            I walk up to Tobias and he slowly punches in the direction of my head. I push his arm to the side and punch at his face. He then sweeps his legs under my own and I fall to the ground.

            “One of the most important things I learned in this stage is to never stay on the ground. Once you’re on the ground, you’re done,” I say. To accentuate my point, Tobias lightly presses his foot into my stomach.

            Tobias holds his hand out to me, I take it and he pulls me up to my feet. Before we can release the initiates for the day Holly asks, “Have you two ever fought each other before?

            “No,” Tobias says.

            “Who do you think would win in a fight?” she asks.

            “Four,” I say.

            “I wouldn’t be so sure,” he says, eying me. In my year at Dauntless I have accumulated more muscles, but not enough to overpower Tobias. I have no doubt in my mind that he would win in a fight.

            “Why don’t we find out?” Jason asks. All of the initiates eagerly nod their heads.

            “Absolutely not,” Tobias says, his voice carrying with it the sense that it is the end of the conversation.

            “You’re all free to go now,” I say, still looking at Tobias.

            The initiates all file out the door, leaving Tobias and I alone. He is still standing in the middle of the ring, angrily staring at the door the initiates just left through. I stand on the tips of my toes to wrap my arms around his neck and place a soft kiss under his jaw.

            “I love you.” I whisper.

            That seems to bring him out of his haze. He brings his hands to the back of my thighs and hoists me up so my legs are wrapped around his waist. The movement brings me eye to eye with him, and I can see the same mischief in them that I saw this morning when we were in bed. He walks us back toward the corner of the room, pushing my back against the cold, stone wall.

            His lips crash against my own, but it is not soft and sweet. It is rough and passionate. He continues to kiss me as he presses his body closer to my own, one of his hands slipping into my shorts.

            “Tobias,” I say to try and reason with him, but it comes out more like a moan. I know it is a bad idea to do this here, but the part of my brain that makes rational decisions is seconds away from not working.

            “I just… I need-“ I cut him off with a kiss. I know exactly what he needs.

            He drops my legs from around his waist just long enough to remove my shorts and panties before lifting me up in his arms again. My arms reach down to the hem of his t-shirt to try to pull it up, but my hands are too shaky to do any good. I tighten my legs around his waist as he reaches back to remove his shirt. I immediately wrap my arms around him, reveling in the feel of his warm skin against my fingers.

            He does not bother removing my top or the jacket I am wearing. He just slides his hands under my clothing to my small breasts, his fingers running over my nipples.

            I slide my hands down his chest and start to unbuckle his belt and jeans before pushing them down along with his boxers. It is only a matter of seconds after he is free from the confines of his jeans that he is inside me.

            “Tris,” he says, his forehead pressed into mine. I look into his eyes and I know not only does he need to let loose, I need him to let loose.

            “Please,” I say, urging him on with a swivel of my hips. That is all it takes before he starts to thrust into me, hard and fast. His lips are hovering over my own, all of our breaths shared.

            It does not take long before we are both close to the edge, his thrusts becoming more sporadic. The combination of his fingers pinching one of my nipples and his hips crashing into mine one last time make me come. I have to bite into his shoulder to keep quiet so no one hears us. My release triggers his and he buries his head in my shoulder to muffle his moans. 

            We stay wrapped around each other for a few minutes, our heart rates slowing. Tobias places several soft kisses on my neck before looking me in the eyes, a satisfied smirk on his face.

            “I love you, too,” Tobias says before he sets me down and we both get dressed. I run my fingers through my hair to try and smooth out the knots Tobias’ fingers left behind. Once we are both presentable Tobias takes my hand and we start to talk to the dining hall.

            We are the last people to enter and make our way over to where Christina, Will, Uriah, Marlene, Lynn, Zeke, and Shauna are all sitting.

            No one says anything as we sit down; every one of them stares at us with the same smirk on their face.

            “What?” I ask, horrified at the thought that they may know why we were late to dinner.

            “So, where have you two been? Your initiates came in a while ago,” Christina asks.

            “We were deciding on our fighting pairs for tomorrow.” Tobias says. He could never be a Candor; he is too good of a liar.

            “Sure. That’s why Tris’ face is all flushed and you have a bite mark on your neck,” Will says with a laugh. He quickly turns his laugh into a cough when Tobias glares at him. He can still so easily intimidate Christina and Will by switching from friend mode to instructor.

            Conversation flows while we eat, and eventually we move to the pit. Zeke passes out drinks to everyone and we discuss the rest of our day.

            After a few drinks Christina says, “Okay. Piercing time, Tris,” and grabs my arm to start to lead me to the tattoo parlor.

            The tattoo parlor is actually pretty packed, so we decide that I’ll do Christina’s nose, and she will do mine so we do not have to wait. We set up in a corner; Zeke, Shauna, Lynn, Marlene, and Uriah waiting outside while Tobias and Will are staying with us.

            I walk over to where all of our piercing supplies are kept and see that Tori is tattooing Iris who is warily looking in my direction. I see Holly sitting next to her.

            “You did good today,” I say as I grab two of everything we need, one for me and one for Christina.

            “Not as good as some of the others,” she says, I can hear the defeat in her voice. I walk over and sit next to Holly as Tori continues to work, stopping only for a moment to offer me a small smile in greeting.

            “It’ll get better. I started out like you, but I ended up first in the final rankings.”

            “Wow… Really?”

            “Yeah. Don’t worry, and don’t let the others make you think you can’t do this,” I say before getting up and walking back over to our corner.

            A few minutes later we all walk out of the tattoo parlor, Christina and I sporting new black stones in our noses.


	5. Chapter 5

**_Chapter 5_ **

 

            The next morning Tobias and I are waiting in the arena when the initiates arrive. We have something special planned before they start their fights. Which is why right after the initiates walk in, Zeke joins us along with Christina, Will, and the Dauntless-born initiates.

            “As you all know, today will be the first day you fight each other. We have a demonstration before you start. Before we tell you the purpose of this exercise, I want all of you to say who you think would win in a fight, Six,” Tobias gestures in my direction, “ or Zeke,” he points in Zeke’s direction.

            It is not surprising to me that most everyone says Zeke will win, except for a few Dauntless-born initiates. Hector, Lynn’s younger brother, being one of them.

            Maybe Zeke _will_ win the fight. This is not something we had originally planned to do. When we got home last night Tobias asked me if I would be willing to do this demonstration. Apparently he and Will were talking and they have both noticed how the initiates this year seem to be underestimating each other, especially the girls in the group. They thought showing them that someone like me, who may look like an easy target, can actually be a threat would do the initiates some good.

            After the all of the initiates make their guesses Tobias motions for us to enter the ring. I unzip the jacket I am wearing and hand it to Tobias. I am now wearing just a plain black tank top that shows all of my various tattoos.

            “Don’t go easy on her,” I hear Tobias tell Zeke. I know it is not because he wants to see me fail or get hurt. He wants to push me to be the best I can be. Tobias then leaves Zeke and I alone in the ring, and the fight starts.

            I let Zeke make the first move. He comes toward me; his arm reaches back in preparation to punch so I duck out of the way, landing a solid punch in his gut. It does not distract his for long though, because the next thing I know my legs are swiped out from under me.

            I know better than to stay on the floor for more than a few seconds, so I quickly get on my feet. Zeke moves to try and place a kick to my stomach but I twist my body and thrust my elbow into his face. He recovers quickly and suddenly lands a punch against my chin. I can feel blood start to run down my neck but I do not have time to think about it.

            I make two quick punches at his face, causing him to almost double over. I take advantage of his hunched-over position and knee him in his stomach, causing him to topple over.

            “That’s enough,” I hear Tobias say. I reach my hand down and help Zeke to his feet. I hear a few cheers coming from where I know Christina, Will, and the few Dauntless-born initiates who voted for me to win are standing.

            “Damn, if I had known she was that good I wouldn’t have signed up for this shit,” he says, his hands rubbing his jaw where a slight bruise is already forming.

            I run my hand across my bottom lip and wipe away the blood. Luckily, there does not seem to be a big enough cut there to warrant a trip to the hospital. As I am stretching my muscles, feeling where I will have bruises in a few hours, I feel a hand come down on my shoulder. I look to my right and see Tobias standing next to me.

            “Now you know. Just because someone doesn’t look like a threat, doesn’t mean they aren’t trained to kill,” Tobias says, his hand lingering on my shoulder.

            Christina, Will, and the Dauntless-born initiates make their way out as our initiates get ready to fight.

 

~.~.~

 

All of the initiates’ fights blend together. Even though I don’t like some of the initiates, it is hard to see a few I have become somewhat fond of put in this situation. During the last fight, Charles sent Iris to the hospital. I now understand why Tobias left the room when I was fighting Peter. I do not have as much of a connection to Iris as Tobias felt for me, but she is one of the few initiates who I would like to see make it through initiation. I try not to watch too closely, I only pay enough attention to see who is standing at the end.

After the initiates make their way out of the arena, Tobias and I straighten up so everything will be in order the next time we need it.

I notice Tobias walk over to a drinking fountain in the corner of the room and wet a rag before walking over to me. He brings it up to my lip and starts to wash off the dried blood that congealed there while I was watching the fights.

“Are you okay?” he asks, a frown on his face as he continues.

“I’ve had worse,” I say, remembering my own fight with Peter a year ago.

Tobias finishes cleaning up my face and places a soft kiss on my forehead before we finish cleaning up the arena. It is a few minutes later that Will and Christina walk in; their initiates having been released for lunch already as well.

Christina walks right over to me and hooks her arm with my own.

“Sorry, Four. I’m stealing her for the rest of the day. You’re going to have to take your initiates on their little field trip by yourself. We’ll see you at dinner!” Christina says, too enthusiastic for this to lead to anything good.

“But, what if I –“ I start to say but before I can finish she pushes me out of the room and leads me up to her apartment she shares with Will.

“What are we doing, Christina?” I ask, looking around her apartment for some kind of clue, but coming up empty.

“Well, I heard you and Four talking about your date tonight and wanted to help you get ready. Before you say no, you never let me help you get ready for these dates so tonight you’re just going to deal with it, okay?”

Ever since I became an official Dauntless, Tobias has made a point for us to have one night a week where we bring dinner up to our apartment and have a nice, quiet night just the two of us. Sometimes he packs our food up and we take a train and just ride around the city and watch the scenery go by. It’s not much, but it is what we do.

“I don’t need to dress up for –“

“I know. We’ve had this conversation a hundred times but I want to dress you up so you are going to sit here and let me,” Christina says, effectively ending the conversation.

She spends the rest of the afternoon doing all kinds of things to me. By the time we head down to dinner I have curls in my hair, and dark makeup surrounding my eyes. I have never done so much, or had someone else do so much, to try and make myself pretty.

Christina put me in a black tight leather skirt that stops mid-thigh and an oversized black long sleeved sweater. I was dubious when she first showed me the outfit, thinking the sweater was too big and the skirt too tight, but she forced me into it. I drew the line at the shoes she tried to get me to wear, and stuck with my boots.

We are making our way to the dining hall, arms hooked together, when we run into Uriah.

“Hot date?” Uriah asks me, looking at my appearance.

“Yes, actually,” I say.

Uriah just laughs and hooks his arm on Christina’s other side as we continue to the dining hall.

Right when we enter my eyes search the room for Tobias. I see him sitting with our friends, a bag of food on the table in front of him. He sees us walk in, and his eyes look over my outfit, a slight smirk forming on his face.

We walk over to their table, Christina moving to sit by Will and Uriah going to sit by Marlene. Tobias stands and grabs my hand.

“Ready?”

I nod my head and we walk out of the dining hall and up to our apartment. He has a blanket set up on the floor with some pillows for us to sit on, our typical set up on nights like this.

We eat and talk about the parts of our day that we did not spend together. Tobias tells me about taking the initiates to the fence, and I tell him about being locked up in Christina and Will’s apartment, Christina forcing me into this ridiculous outfit.

“I like it,” he says when I mention my outfit. He is sitting with his back against the wall, me in front of him with my back to his chest and his arms wrapped around my waist.

When he says that, his hands reach down and start to trace patterns in the skin of my upper thigh. His lips attach themselves to my neck, peppering kisses up and down its length making my heart start to race.

I turn around and sit with my legs on either side of his. He wraps his arms around me, his hands resting on my hips. For a minute I just look at him. I take in his eyes, shining with passion and his hair that is a few inches longer than would be acceptable in Abnegation, but shorter than most Dauntless boys have it.

I move myself up farther on his lap, grinding my hips into his as my hands grab onto his hair and pull his lips to mine. He kisses me for a few moments before moving his lips to my neck, his teeth lightly nipping at the skin there.

I lean my head next to his, my lips next to his ear as I whisper, “I love you.”

He doesn’t need to say it back; his actions mean the same thing. He stands while keeping my legs wrapped around his waist, my skirt riding up on my hips. Tobias walks us over to our bed and lays me down in the center before covering my body with his.

He places frantic kisses along my neck while his hands work on removing my clothing. He eventually succeeds and I am left in just my panties.

My hands reach down to the hem of his shirt and pull it over his head. I trace my fingernails down his back, imagining the tattoos of each faction’s symbol that my fingers are traveling over as I do so. His hips thrusting into mine bring me out of my thoughts and my fingers move down to undo his belt.

Tobias’ lips attaching to my nipple cause me to forget about getting his pants off and my hands clutch at the skin on his back. His hands slide down my side before they slip under my panties. He immediately thrusts two fingers into me.

“Tobias. More,” I moan out before he quickly rids me of the rest of my clothing. This reminds me of my earlier mission and I go back to work his jeans and boxers down his legs before he kicks them off.

Tobias’ hands slide along my legs; I can feel the rough calluses on his palms from years of fighting and shooting. He brings my legs to wrap around his waist before leaning over me and leaning his head into my neck.

“I love you, too,” he whispers before thrusting into me.

There is always a moment, right when he enters me, where everything seems right. I don’t have to worry about initiates or training or anything else. All there is to think about is Tobias.

He starts a slow pace, our hips rocking together has be brings his lips to mine. His hands continue to roam my body, one stopping at my chest to pinch my nipples. I moan when he does which causes him in increase his pace a little bit.

I’m getting close to the edge, and I know he is too, as I dig my nails into his back. His hands grip my hips to still them as he increases his pace, his hips slamming into mine.

It gets to be too much for me as I reach my peak, my hands gripping his forearms for anything to hold on to as the pleasure rakes through my body.

My body slumps back against the bed, and I feel Tobias roll to the side next to me. He pulls me over to him, my head resting in the curve of his neck.

His fingertips trace patterns in my skin, while mine do the same on his chest. We lay in silence for a few minutes while our heartbeats slow down. It is still relatively early in the night, too early for us to think about going to sleep yet.

It is then that we hear a frantic knocking on the door; we look at each other for a moment before I grab my clothes and go to the bathroom to get dressed, Tobias just puts his jeans back on and opens the door. I keep the sweater, but switch my skirt out for a pair of jeans.

I walk out and see Christina and Uriah standing in the middle of the room, each holding two paintball guns.

“What’s going on?” I ask, eyeing the guns. I see Tobias walking over to our small closet, pulling out a clean shirt.

“Major paintball war happening across the compound right now. We’ve divided into two sides. Zeke, Lauren, Shauna, Will, and Marlene on one while me, Uriah, Lynn, and you two are with us. Bonus points if you hit an initiate,” Christina says, she’s obviously gotten a little too into this.

“You all couldn’t wait until capture the flag tomorrow to play with the paintball guns?” I ask with a laugh, while secretly looking forward to whatever this paintball war will lead to.

“Nope. You guys in?” Uriah asks, already handing Tobias a gun while Christina hands me one.

Tobias gives me a mischievous look out of the corner of his eye before he says, “Of course.”

“Okay, things have been pretty tame so far. There are still some people in the dining hall having dinner, that would be a good place to hit an initiate or two. Last sighting we had of anyone on the other team was near the tattoo parlor. Lynn headed up to the training room to see if anyone was there, I think we should take a pass by the dining hall on our way there,” Uriah says.

We leave our apartment and make our way down to the dining hall, checking around every corner we encounter to make sure one of the others isn’t there.

When we get to the dining hall Uriah sticks his head around the corner to peek inside, “Initiate jackpot in there, mostly transfers” he says with a smirk on his face.

“Tris and Four will stay here and get them, me and Uriah will meet you guys in the training room when you’re done,” Christina says, pulling Uriah along behind her toward the training room.

“Ready?” Tobias asks, a boyish smile covering his face.

I nod and we enter the dining hall, guns up. Some of the older Dauntless seem to understand what is going on, apparently this isn’t the first time a paintball war broke out during initiation that targeted initiates. The ones who know what is going on scream and cheer as Tobias and I hit a few shocked initiates. I manage to get Jason in the back of his head, as well as a few others. As we start to retreat I see Peter sitting with a few other people in the corner, glaring at me. I shoot a paintball right in the middle of his chest.

As we are making our way through the pit we see Christina, Uriah, and Lynn running our way, the entire other team chasing them.

“Ambush! Retreat!” Lynn shouts as they continue running toward us.

I look at Tobias quickly, already raising my gun and he quickly follows. If we’re going to go out, we’re going out with a bang.

“Down!” Tobias shouts as we start shooting at the other team who didn’t see us in front of our team members running. Christina, Uriah, and Lynn all fall to the ground when Tobias and I start shooting.

I feel a few of their shots hit various spots on me, but most of the damage is done on all of the other team. After the last shot rings out, I look up at Tobias, who has blue paint in his hair, and start to laugh.

Eventually, everyone around us starts to laugh, as well as some people who came out of the dining hall to see the action.

The excitement eventually dies down and we head back to our apartment for a shower. As I am washing paint out of my hair I realize that choosing Dauntless was the best decision I ever made.


	6. Chapter 6

The next day we start out in the training room for the first half of the day, teaching the initiates how to throw a knife. I still don’t see the significance of having to know how to throw a knife, it does not seem like it would help me much in a dangerous situation. But, Eric and the other leaders still want it to be apart of the initiation process.

            Eric has not been as present during initiation this year as he was for mine last year. He told Tobias he had more important things to take care of, but no one knows what exactly he has been up to.

            We walk around the room, observing the initiates attempting to make a knife stick to a target. I remember my moment of pride when I was able to taunt Peter after I hit a target before he did. That also leads me to the memory of Tobias throwing knives at my head, cutting one of my ears in the process. A shiver goes down my spine at the thought of that day.

            “Something wrong?” he asks as we stop next to each other to observe all of the initiates from afar.

            “No, just remembering my own knife-throwing experiences,” I say.

            “Ah. Well, for an initiate, you handled knives being thrown at your head very well,” he says with a smirk.

            “Hopefully it’s not something I’m going to have to handle well again, though.”

            “You threw knives at her head?” Kate asks, apparently she was listening in on our conversation.

            “No one said you could stop practicing,” Tobias says in his instructor voice, different from the softer tone he was using just a few seconds ago when we were talking.

            “I don’t believe it. No one could have that good of aim to believe they could throw a knife at someone’s head and not kill them,” Charles says, and a few seconds later more of the initiates start to exclaim their opinions on the matter.

            “He had good enough aim to throw knives at my head because he didn’t stop in the middle of practicing to chat,” I say, and everyone freezes mid conversation.

            It takes them a few seconds to recover, but eventually they all go back to practicing. It pleases me to see that Iris is the first to make a knife stick, even though it is nowhere near the center of the target. She is one of the initiates I would like to see make it all the way to the end.

            We release the initiates a while later for lunch. Tobias and I walk hand in hand to the dining hall and take a seat with all of our friends.

            “Get any knives thrown at your head this time?” Christina asks, a teasing smile on her face.

            “Hang off of the Chasm lately?” I ask.

            “Touché,” Christina says, raising her glass to me, as I do the same to her.

            “Man, we’ve really got to step up our game with these initiates. Nothing traumatic like that has happened to them,” Will says, looking across the room at some of the Dauntless-born initiates laughing together while they eat.

            “We did ambush them last night and shoot paintballs at them,” Tobias says.

            “Yeah, maybe something exciting will happen during capture the flag,” Will says with a forlorn look on his face before he continues to eat.

            “Damn, I wish I was playing tonight,” Uriah says as he looks down at his plate, disappointment all over his face.

            “Cheer up little bro, we’re going zip lining in a few days! You’re coming, right Tris?” Zeke asks as he slaps Uriah on the back.

            I smile at the thought of zip lining again, “Wouldn’t miss it.”

            “You should try and get grumpy over there to finally try it,” Shauna says, pointing over to Tobias next to me. Right when Zeke mentioned zip lining Tobias went rigid and a frown appeared on his face.

            “I don’t even think I could get him to go,” I say with a laugh, trying to lighten the mood and eventually get the attention off of Tobias’ fear of heights. I feel his hand squeeze my thigh under the table, his way of saying thank you.

           

~.~.~

 

            After lunch the initiates have another afternoon of fights. Tomorrow they’ll have target practice again in the morning, and then their last fight in the afternoon. I’ll be glad when the fighting is over. It was my least favorite part of my initiation, and is my least favorite part about training.

            Tobias and I stand back and observe the initiates as they fight. Tobias breaks them apart when needed.

            All of the initiates seem to be both mentally and physically exhausted when we release them for dinner. It almost makes me feel bad that capture the flag is tonight. Almost.

            During dinner we discuss our impending game of capture the flag with Will and Christina. It eventually leads to a conversation about how absent Eric has been, because he was the other team leader last year. Apparently Tobias asked him a few days ago if he was still going to be apart of the game tonight and Eric just brushed him off, saying how he didn’t have time to ‘partake in our childish game.’ If Tobias hadn’t told me that he was originally from Erudite, I could have easily figured it out after that. 

            I was glad that Eric had been so absent during initiation. I never felt completely safe whenever he was around. I always felt that, even though I was an official Dauntless member, if I said something wrong he would send me away to be Factionless. Or maybe he would just kill me on the spot.

            Tobias and I have a few hours to ourselves after dinner before we have to go and tell the initiates to meet us at the train tracks for capture the flag. We walked, hand in hand, up to our apartment. Right when he closes the door I toss my body face down onto the bed.

            “Tired?” Tobias asks as he sits himself on the bed, laying his head on his pillow. I pull my body up so that I can align my body with his, my head lying on his pillow next to his.

            I nod my head before leaning forward to place a soft kiss on his lips. His arms wrap around my waist before he pulls me so my entire body is touching his, aligned from head to toe.

            That is how we spend our time before we have to go get the initiates. We talked a little bit about what our night would be like, and why Eric has been so absent, but we spent most of our time slowly kissing with our hands roaming each other’s body.

            The time eventually comes for us to get ready to go. I exchange my tank top for a plain black long sleeved shirt as well as one of Tobias’ black jackets.

            “You know, you do have jackets of your own,” he says with a smirk as he puts on a leather coat over his own long sleeved shirt.

            “Yes, but yours are more comfortable and they-“ I stop myself before I finish my sentence. What I was going to say was that they smell like him but I don’t want him to think I’m crazy.

            “And what?” he asks before walking over to me and wrapping his arms around my waist, resting his hands on the small of my back as he pulls me closer to him.

            I rest my forehead against his chest before mumbling, “They smell like you. Ever since you brought me back here after… I’ve associated your scent with being safe.”

            I keep my forehead pressed against him so I do not have to actually look him in the eyes. Eventually though, he unwraps one arm from around me and brings his hand to my chin to lift my head up. I let him and look into his deep blue eyes.

            Tobias simply places a kiss on my cheek and whispers, “I love you,” before we leave to go meet Christina and Will in the pit.

            Christina and Will are both dressed similarly to Tobias and I. They both look excited to get started.

            “Tris and I will go get the Dauntless borns, you and Will can deal with the transfers. We’ve already got the guns and paintballs sitting outside by the tracks,” Christina says to Tobias before grabbing my arm and pulling me toward the Dauntless-born dormitories.

            As we enter the dormitories everyone is already awake, sitting up in their beds staring at the door. They obviously already knew that tonight was the night they would be playing capture the flag.

            “Train tracks in five minutes!” I shout before Christina and I make our way to the tracks.

            Tobias and Will are already there when we get to the train tracks. I hook my arm through Tobias’, trying to absorb some of his body heat. He places a soft kiss on the top of my head.

            After a few minutes of waiting it seems all of the initiates are here. We have them all grab a gun and paintballs as we wait the last few minutes for the train. Once it arrives we all jump on, a few of the transfers still having trouble getting on the train.

            “Tonight we’ll be playing a game of capture the flag. Will and Christina are going be leading one team, while Six and myself will be leading another. We’ll be choosing teams before one group jumps off five minutes before the next. Understand?” Tobias says, his instructor voice coming out again.

            We go through the process of switching off with Will and Christina to choose initiates. We end up with Iris, Clarice, Holly, Derek, Eve, Pete, Taylor, Rylee, and Hector. A few of them are Dauntless-born initiates that I have never met. Thankfully Jason ends up with Will and Christina, I don’t have the patience to deal with him tonight.

            “You guys want to go second?” I ask Christina and Will.

            “Just because you won for us last year, Six, doesn’t mean you’ll win again this year,” Christina says, a cocky smirk on her face. I _did_ win for us last year. She may have gotten the flag, but it was because of me.

            “Go first then,” Tobias says, leaning his back against the wall of the train behind him and crossing his arms across his chest.

            Christina and Will know Tobias has more experience with this than they do. He has been in Dauntless two years longer than the rest of us. They know he will win, and this year he has me.

            “We’ll go second,” Christina mumbles as Tobias smirks at her.

            “When I say jump, jump,” Tobias says to our group. We reach our destination and they all jump off, Tobias and I jumping after all of our group is off of the train.

            Right when we hit the ground the initiates start arguing on what the strategy should be.

            “They said you won for them last year, right?” Derek, one of Jason lackeys asks me, “How did you do it?”

            “Maybe you should figure out your own strategy,” I say. Winning this game does not matter to me anymore. Christina and Will can win for all I care. I have nothing to prove to anyone. Tobias can sense my change in mood and squeezes my hand.

            The initiates start arguing again and I look around for something to distract me from my anger. I look to my left and see the Ferris wheel Tobias and I climbed and smile at the memory.

            “Come on,” Tobias says, dragging me behind him as he walks toward the Ferris wheel.

            “What are you doing?”

            “For old times sake,” he says, but I can hear the fear in his voice. Despite still regularly going into his fear landscape he still has four fears; heights still being one of them. He told me that one of them changed, but that there are still just four. He would not tell me which one changed, though.

            “We don’t have to. I’m fine,” I tell him, but he just starts climbing. I know he is doing this for me, to get my mind off of other, less pleasant, things so I follow him up the ladder.

            We go high enough to see where the other team has hidden their flag. For being so adamant that they could win, Christina and Will did not do a very good job at hiding their flag. Though, I guess it is really the initiates who make the decision on where to hide it.

            Tobias and I just sit there for a few minutes, holding hands and looking at the city before we hear a noise below us. Tobias immediately tenses.

            I look down and see Iris slowly climbing the ladder, “What are you doing?” I ask her.

            “Well, all of the others are still down there bickering, but I thought time would be better spent finding out where the other team put their flag. I saw you two sneak off, and thought this might be what you did to win last year,” Iris says, her voice tight. It is obvious she does not like heights either.

            She sits next to me and looks out. It does not take her long to spot the other teams flag. I see the proud smile spread across her face and remember feeling the same way last year.

            “Lets go,” Tobias says, eager to get back on solid ground.

            Iris starts to climb down first, then Tobias, then me. Our trip down is, thankfully, much less eventful than last year and we do not need to turn the Ferris wheel on and give away our location.

            Iris runs to the others while we take our time getting to them. We hear the end of their plan to ambush the others before they run off. We jog after them and reach them just in time to see Iris grab the flag, effectively winning the game.

            I see Christina and Will covered in paint, both with frowns on their faces.

            “Damn Ferris wheel,” Will mutters before we all go back to the tracks to head back to Dauntless.


	7. Chapter 7

            Tobias wakes before me in the morning. I know this because I wake up to wet kisses being placed along my shoulders as I lay on my stomach with my head squished in my pillow.

            “Tris,” Tobias whispers against the skin of my back. He continues to place soft kisses wherever he can reach.

            “Mmm,” I mumble into my pillow. I know we should start getting ready for our day, but all I want to do is stay in bed with Tobias and not have to deal with anyone or anything.

            The comforter is suddenly pulled away from me and my body is airborne. Tobias throws me over his shoulder, my eyes lock on the tattoos covering the skin of his back.

            “What are you doing?” I ask, trying to straighten my self out, but his hands are locked around my legs. Tobias does not say anything as he walks us into the bathroom, finally setting me on my feet.

            I look up at him a see a half smile on his face. I love seeing him like this. Like _him_. Not the Dauntless instructor, or Dauntless Control Room worker. Just Tobias. I place my hands on his shoulders, tracing them along his shoulders before eventually wrapping my arms around his neck. I stretch up on my toes while pulling him down and give him a soft kiss on his lips.

            I keep his head close to mine, our lips barely touching when I whisper, “I love you.”

            His smirk returns before he starts to remove my clothing and starts our shower.

 

~.~.~

 

            Tobias and I make it to the training room a few minutes before the initiates are set to arrive. Today is the last day of stage one. They will have target practice in the morning, and then their last fight this afternoon.

            “Have you ever tried throwing with your left arm?” Tobias suddenly asks me as he pulls out the knives we use for target practice.

            “No,” I say, eying him. I know where this is leading. He picks up a knife, but instead of using his right arm, he tosses it with his left. It hits the center of the target.

            I walk over to him and pick up a knife. I practice the movements a few times. Adjusting my body and getting my muscles used to using my other hand. I don’t expect the results of this to be very good; it took me a long time to be able to hit the center with my dominant arm. Maybe I would be better at shooting a gun with my left though.

            I aim and throw the knife and hear a satisfactory _thud_ letting me know it at least stuck to the target. It actually isn’t that bad. It is not as good as Tobias’ throw, but not too far away from the center of the target.

            “Try again,” Tobias says, now in full instructor mode. He is standing behind me, his arms crossed over his chest as he studies me. He hands me a couple more knives and I keep throwing until, more often than not, I hit the center.

            I am still practicing when the initiates walk in; I see a smug look on Jason’s face. He walks over and stands in front of the target I was just using and pulls one of the knives out.

            “Still trying to learn how to throw a knife?” he asks, smirking at me. He actually thinks I do not know how to throw a knife. He actually thinks Tobias is the only reason I made it into Dauntless.

            All of these thoughts make me angry. I wonder how many other people think the same thing. Will I never be able to prove myself as a true Dauntless? I look at Jason; his face says that he succeeded in what he wanted. He wants me to doubt myself. I twist the knife I have in my hand. Before really thinking about it, I reach my arm back and toss the knife in his direction.

            It does not hit him, it lands right above his head, right where I aimed. The room goes completely silent then, the other initiates all stop their side conversations and stare at me with wide eyes.

            “Anything else you’d like to say?” I ask, Jason’s eyes are still wide with fear. He has not moved since the knife hit the target.

            Tobias walks over to him and starts to pull the knives I had been tossing out of the target. He looks down at Jason and says, “It would probably be in your best interest to _stop_ taunting her,” his voice low and menacing.

            After that, the first half of the day goes by without any further incidents. The initiates continue to practice throwing knives, only a few actually doing a decent job.

            Tobias takes my hand after the initiates have been dismissed and leads me to the dining hall. We take our seat with our friends, though my bad mood from this morning is still there.

            “What’s with her?” Lynn asks as she sits down across from me.

            “Our initiates, on in particular, seem to think the only reason Tris made it through her initiation is because of me,” Tobias says, the disgust is clear in his voice as he says it.

            “Damn. You know, it’s not just initiates. Most Dauntless guys underestimate the women. It is getting on my last nerve,” Lynn starts before launching into an in depth discussion with Christina and Shauna about how unfairly women in the compound are treated.

            I silently eat my lunch, not feeling very hungry. I feel Tobias throw his arm around my shoulder, and then feel his lips hover next to my ear.

            “You know you’re Dauntless. You belong here. It doesn’t matter what he says,” Tobias whispers so only I can hear him.

            I look up at him and cannot help but smile when I see the sincerity all over his face. Tobias is right. I need to stop listening to what others say.

 

~.~.~

 

            The rest of the day goes by fairly quickly. The initiates have their last fight of initiation, and then Tobias and I decide on the rankings. Unfortunately, Jason is in first. I am still secretly hopeful that he will fail at the next two stages of initiation and not rank in the top ten.

            That night we all ended up in the pit. Everyone was on at least their second drink, Zeke and Uriah already having trouble walking in a straight line. One thing that I was pleased to find out about Tobias is that he gets particularly…handsy after a few drinks. Which is why his hand that is wrapped around my waist has slowly started to work its way up under my tank top.

            We have stopped in the middle of the pit. Tobias leans against the hard wall and pulls me into him. He opens his mouth to say something, but before he can someone bumps into my back, pushing me into Tobias.

            “Watch it, Stiff,” that voice makes my blood boil.

            “So, how does it feel to have been outranked by a Stiff then, Peter?” Tobias asks, his voice low.

            “We all know the only reason she came in first was because she was fu-“ before Peter can finish his sentence Tobias has pushed me to the side and pushed Peter up against the wall.

            After landing a punch to Peter’s face Tobias leans in and whispers, “Talk about her again and I will be the last thing you ever see.”

            “Are you threatening me, Four?” Peter asks with a cocky smirk on his face. A smirk he has no business wearing seeing as Tobias has his hands wrapped around his neck.

            “Yes.”

            Tobias lowers his hands from around Peter’s neck and grabs me again. He takes my hand and leads us away from the pit. Our friends disperse as well, but no one follows us. Nobody likes to deal with Tobias when he is in one of these moods. Except me.

            Tobias leads the way back to our apartment before slamming the door after we both enter. I sit on the edge of the bed and watch him pace back and forth in front of me. It lasts for a few minutes before he stops and kneels on the floor in front of me.

            “You know –“

            “Yes. I know,” I smile at him before placing a soft kiss on his lips. I am done doubting myself because others still see me as a little Abnegation girl. That is not who I am anymore, what they think does not matter.

            My soft kiss quickly turns into a more passionate kiss as Tobias picks up my body and places me in the center of the bed on my back. His lips never leave mine as his hands start to roam over my body, quickly reaching under my tank to firmly grasp my breast.

            “Tobias,” I moan into his mouth before he disconnects our lips to remove my top, only to bring them back to mine seconds later. His hands now freely roam over my exposed chest, his fingers lightly pinching my nipples.

            I reach my arms down and start to pull at his shirt. He quickly gets up and removes all of his clothes, while I get to work on my remaining articles of clothing. Seconds later we are both naked and Tobias has returned his body to rest atop mine. His hand reaches down and strokes my center, two fingers slipping inside.

            My hips buck into his hand, seeking the friction only he can bring. Tobias suddenly flips us over, my legs straddling his waist.

            “Tris,” he moans, his hands gripping my hips tightly. He pushes me back so my center is aligned with his cock. In one swift motion I lower my hips to his and I am completely filled. His hands on my hips guide my movements.

            We set a fast pace, frantically working each other toward our release. His hands roam my body. They trace the skin on my thighs straddling his waist, they roam my stomach and make their way up to my breasts, they trace patterns on my skin as they travel back down my sides to rest on my hips again.

            “So… good” I mumble as we both get closer and closer to our climax. Tobias knows what I need and flips us over again. He sets an even faster pace; I can hear the sound our skin makes as his hips meet mine.

            He roughly presses his lips to mine again as we both reach our peak, his mouth muffling my moans.

 

~.~.~

 

            Today is visiting day. I know even though the initiates were told not to seem too attached to their families they are all hoping that they show up. Tobias and I stay back, watching as the initiates and their families are reunited for a short while.

            I look around and see Iris standing with whom I assume are her mother and father. It is obvious by the looks on their faces that they are not upset that she chose Dauntless, which is surprising to me. Maybe they had discussed it before the choosing ceremony; maybe she had always wanted to be Dauntless.

            Her mother starts to look around and her eyes land on me. She leans down to her daughter and says something to her before pointing in my direction. Soon, they are on their way over to where Tobias and I are standing.

            “Do you know them?” he asks as they get closer to us.

            “No.”

            “Beatrice?” the woman asks as all three of them stop in front of me.

            “Um, yes?” I ask, studying her and her husband’s faces, trying to remember if I have ever met them before.

            “My name is Cecilia. I work with your mother. She knew Iris had chosen Dauntless and that we would be coming today, she wanted us to tell you that her and your father say hello and hope you are doing well,” the woman says with a small smile on her face as she holds out her hand for me to shake, remembering how Dauntless greet each other.

            “Ian,” the man next to her says as he shakes hands with both Tobias and I as well.

            “Thank you,” I say to the Cecilia, “Will you tell them… Just tell them I’m doing good?” I don’t know what else to say. If my parents were here now there would be so much I would say to them, but just letting them know that I am doing good in Dauntless and that I am happy will have to do.

            “How is Iris doing? We’ve heard a little bit about Dauntless initiation…” the father, Ian, asks. He rests his hand on his daughters shoulder.

            “She’s doing fine. Reminds me a lot of this one during her initiation last year,” Tobias says, wrapping his arm around my shoulder.

            I roll my eyes at that and say, “She’s doing good. Don’t worry, I’ll look out for her,” knowing that they want their daughter safe. It is the least I can do after they spent some of their time meant for their daughter delivering me a message from my parents.

            “Thank you,” both parents say at the same time.

            “We should get going, enjoy your visit,” Tobias says, grabbing my hand and leading me out of the pit.

           

~.~.~

 

            The next few days pass fairly quickly. Tobias handles putting the initiates through their simulations. He doesn’t need me for that, and he knows so much more about doing it than me so he offers to handle all of it.

            While Tobias has been working on the simulations I went back to working in the tattoo parlor for a few days.

            On the last day of stage two of initiation, Iris walks in the tattoo parlor when she should be with the others waiting for her simulation.

            “Something wrong?” I ask, warily looking at her.

            “I – Four told me to come find you. My simulation – I’m –“ she does not have to finish her sentence. I know where she is going with this – she is Divergent.

            “Come with me,” I say before we walk into the back room.

            “Don’t tell anyone. No one. You can trust Four and I, we’ll do our best to keep you safe if you make it through initiation. But you can _never_ let anyone else know. Do you understand?”

            There is nothing else I can promise her. If she makes it through initiation, of course we would do our best to help her if anything were to happen, but the only advice we can give her now is to never let anyone know she is Divergent.


	8. Chapter 8

Will, Christina, Tobias, and I are all in the fear landscape room. Both Dauntless born and transfer initiates will be here in about fifteen minutes. We got here early to decide whose fears the initiates will be going through for their practice run today. It has resulted in a twenty-minute argument between all of us.

            “I just don’t get why Four is so special that the initiates have never had to go through his fears!” Christina shouts. For some reason she wants them to go through Tobias’ fears, but I know that would never happen. She has gotten extremely worked up over the subject for some reason. She has made a few comments about Tobias that have caused me to clench my hands into fists so I do not do something I will regret.

            “Back off, Christina. It just makes more sense for the initiates to go through one persons fears, it’s easier to set up the simulation that way. Four and I don’t have enough fears for all of the initiates. You and Will on the other hand, do,” I say, my voice low. Her comments about Tobias and I have put me on edge.

            It is not the first time something like this has happened with Christina. Every few months she has some kind of outburst.  I think it comes from her not being in Candor anymore. She is no longer obligated to be truthful all of the time. But, sometimes all of her opinions get bottled up too tight and explode. The first time it happened we were talking by the Chasm, it was just a few weeks after our initiation into Dauntless.

 

**FLASHBACK**

 

            _Tobias was working late in the Control Room, so Christina decided to take advantage of my free time without him. I met her by the Chasm after dinner. She was already there, waiting with a drink for me._

_“Hey,” I say before accepting the drink from her outstretched hand and taking a sip. Usually I’ll get an enthusiastic ‘Hey!’ back from her, but this time she just stares at me._

_I lean my arms on the rail in front of the Chasm with my drink in my hands. After a few seconds more of glaring at me Christina does the same._

_“So, are you going to tell me why you’re suddenly angry at me?” I ask. This afternoon when she told me she wanted to spend some time together tonight she was perfectly happy with me. Something had obviously changed her mind within the last few hours._

_“When did you and Four start seeing each other?” Christina asks._

_“What? Why does that matter?” we have talked a little bit about the early stages of my relationship with Tobias, but we never went into too many details about how things were when I was still an initiate. I always tried to steer clear of that subject – I still think that Christina will think that Tobias fixed my score or something ridiculous like that. Maybe she has finally decided that, and that is why she is suddenly angry._

_“I just – it’s not_ fair _. The rest of us had to worry all through initiation about whether we were going to make it or not. But you were just off having fun with your boyfriend.”_

_“You think Tobias pushed me through initiation? You don’t think I earned my spot?”_

_“He ran the simulations, Tris. That’s when you started moving up in the rankings. It just makes sense that’s when –“_

_“Oh, just shut up Christina! Why do you think we kept it a secret? Because we knew people would make that assumption. You know I worked harder than everyone in our initiation class to make it. I knew people would think Tobias pushed me through initiation after we came out but I didn’t think one of them would be my supposed best friend.”_

_“It’s just not fair, Tris!”_

_“No! You acting like this, that isn’t fair, Christina! He threw knives at my head, he called me pathetic in front of everyone the first time I went through one of Lauren’s fears. If anything he pushed me harder and expected more out of me than the rest of you!”_

_Christina has no response for that. I toss my mostly full bottle into a trashcan next to Christina and turn to walk away. What I don’t expect is for Tobias to be leaning against the wall on the other side of the Chasm when I turn around._

_I walk over to him and he takes my hand and gives it a reassuring squeeze, telling me that everything I told Christina was true._

**END FLASHBACK**

 

            Christina just huffs before walking over to the control room with Tobias where he will set up the simulations to run through her fears.

            I stay in my spot, arms crossed over my chest. I think back to the first time I was in this room. I am lost in my memory of Tobias pulling me off of the ground, yelling at me that I was pathetic when Will speaks.

            “She just blows up sometimes. You know she –“

            “I know,” I say, looking over at Will, “she just needs time to cool off, then she’ll apologize.”

            After our first big argument about Tobias pushing me through initiation, it took a week before Christina and I talked to each other. She came over to our apartment a week later and apologized to both Tobias and I.

            Christina and Tobias walk back into the fear landscape room just as the initiates start to enter. The Dauntless-borns have an appropriate look of fear in their eyes. They know what is about to happen. Once all of the initiates are here, I start to speak.

            “Today’s exercise is to give you all a sense of how the fear landscape simulation works. You will not learn how many fears you have today, but most of you will have anywhere from ten to fifteen fears. You will each be going through one of Christina’s fears today.”

            “How many fears did you have?” Holly asks. She is too curious for my liking.

            “Seven to begin with. I got over one,” I tell her, and then I hear Christina giggle behind me. I turn around and give her a glare.

            “That’s why you’re Six! So, you only have _four_ fears?” Holly asks, now looking at Tobias who simply nods at her question.

            We assign the initiates their fears and then settle in for a long afternoon. The only pleasurable part of the afternoon was watching Jason swatting away moths that none of us could see.

 

~.~.~

 

            After all of the initiates found their way out of a fear simulation it was just Christina, Will, Tobias and I in the fear simulation room. The others who were going zip lining were meeting us here before we all headed to the Hancock building.

            “I’ll see you at dinner,” Tobias says before giving me a quick kiss and leaving. He told me he was going to check and see what was happening in the Control Room while we were all gone.

            Right after Tobias leaves, Zeke and Uriah walk in with about a dozen others behind them. Lynn and Marlene are among them, along with Shauna. We all quickly make our way to the train that will take us to our destination.

            As we get on one of the elevators Lynn playfully steps on my foot. I look at her out of the corner of my eye and see her smirk.

            As we are all in line waiting for our turn Christina asks, “So you did this last year, too?”

            “Yeah, Uriah brought me. You’ll love it,” I tell her.  

            “Your turn, Tris!” Zeke shouts at me before I walk over to him. He hooks me up to the zip line and before I know it I am flying over the city.

 

~.~.~

 

            We all make our way back to the Dauntless compound, a giant mass of loud Dauntless animatedly talking about zip-lining. I break off from the group and head up to our apartment. We still have a while before dinner, and though the place is small, we still manage to make a mess of the place.

            I quickly clean the apartment up, tossing discarded clothes in the hamper.

            I leave our apartment and start to walk down the hall to the dining hall. As I am turning a corner a hand clamps over my mouth, and two others grab my wrists and hold them behind my back. The hands holding my wrist disappear as my back is slammed against a wall.

            I look up and see Jason, one hand still covering my mouth as the other wraps around my throat. My now free hands try and push his away from my neck, but he is too strong.

            “You’re just a little girl. I can’t have you telling your _boyfriend_ not to put me through Dauntless just because I see you for who you really are,” he sneers at me, his hand tightening around my neck, “you don’t belong in Dauntless. I’m not going to have you keep me out.”

            I clamp my teeth down on the hand that is covering my mouth at the same time I lift my knee up and connect it with his groin. I see Derek’s eyes widen behind Jason before he runs in the opposite direction.

            Jason lands a solid punch to my jaw before I can duck. I slap my hand against his ear, unbalancing him and causing him to fall to his knees. To be safe, I knee him in his stomach before I grab the neck of his t-shirt.

            “Come on,” I say as he clumsily stumbles behind me. It only takes a minute before we are walking into the Dining Hall. I walk into the center, facing the two tables where both transfer and Dauntless-born initiates are sitting. I let Jason fall to the floor before I address everyone.

            “Initiates! It seems this year a lot of you are having trouble comprehending what being Dauntless truly means. You think it is all about fighting, or having power over others. You underestimate each other, especially females in the group. That’s not what being Dauntless is about. We believe in ordinary acts of bravery, in the courage that drives one person to stand up for another.

            “Does anyone think that two men attacking me because they don’t feel confident enough in their abilities to make it into Dauntless is brave?” I ask.

            “Hell, no!” I hear Lynn shout and look to my left. I see her standing with Marlene and Shauna next to her, all of them shooting encouraging looks in my direction. I hear others around the dining hall shout similar protests to my statement.

            “If you want to prove yourself as Dauntless, you work harder. You don’t try and push others down to try and build yourself up. If you want to fight me to prove yourself, we’ll fight. But don’t be such a coward that you bring a fucking _sidekick_ ,” I spit out the last two words while looking down at Jason. I can almost feel the anger rising in him.

            Jason stands and makes his way toward me, throwing an arm in my direction. I block it and quickly land a punch to his jaw. He quickly recovers before landing a punch to the side of my face, disorienting me. He takes advantage of that and spins me around, wrapping his arm around my neck with my back to his chest. His arm almost lifting me off of the ground, choking me.

            I bring my elbow forward before thrusting it back into his stomach. That causes him to drop me, and then I swipe my leg across his, dropping him on the floor. I place a few good kicks to his stomach before I feel a hand on my shoulder, pulling me back and turning me around.

            I pull my fist back, expecting to see Derek or another one of Jason’s pathetic friends behind me. The person’s hand grabs my fist before it can connect to their face. I look up and see Tobias standing in front of me.

            “That’s enough. Come on,” Tobias grabs my upper arm and leads me out of the dining hall. I hear cheering erupt around us as we leave.

            Tobias does not say anything else as we walk up to our apartment. I look up at his face, but it does nothing to tell me what he is feeling. He keeps a neutral expression.

            We walk in and Tobias closes the door behind me. I turn around expecting him to finally lose his blank face and see his anger, but instead I see a slow smile spread across his face as he leans against the door.

            “You’re not mad?” I ask, surprised.

            “You stood up for yourself. You told not only the new initiates, but also all of the other members what being Dauntless should mean. If anyone ever had any doubt that you belong in Dauntless, they won’t now. I just thought you’d had enough fun,” he says with a wink in my direction.

            I don’t know why I thought Tobias would be upset. I guess I could have done my little demonstration with less of an audience, but I got my point across.

            Tobias walks over to me, places both of his hands on either side of my face, and places a soft kiss on my forehead. His hands travel down to my neck, his fingers lightly tracing where I probably already have bruises from Jason’s hands.

            “You’re okay?” he asks.

            I nod and place my hands on his neck, pulling him closer for a kiss. A frantic knocking at the door breaks us apart. Tobias walks over to answer it, but based on the shouts we can hear through the door we both already know who it is.

            “There’s our girl!” Lynn shouts as she pulls me out of the apartment. We all somehow make it to Zeke and Uriah’s apartment. In the hour that Tobias and I were alone they managed to get the place set up for a congrats-you-beat-up-that-jerk-party.

            Zeke hands me a drink before he stands up on a chair and calls everybody’s attention.

            “This spur of the moment party is being held in honor of our badass friend, Tris. I’m sure that asshole deserved worse, but you did beat him up pretty good. To Tris!” he shouts before jumping off of his chair and raising his glass in my direction.

            I look around and see Zeke has already made his way over to Tobias at the other side of the room. Christina, Lynn, Marlene and Shauna suddenly surround me.

            “So, what’s the whole story?” Christina asks.

            I tell them about how Jason and Derek attacked me, Derek running away after I started to get the upper hand, and dragging Jason back to the dining hall.

            “I never knew you had it in you,” Lynn says with a smirk before taking a swig of her drink.

            The hours of celebrating go by fairly quickly, and it is early morning before Tobias and I collapse in bed together.


	9. Chapter 9

The Dauntless compound has the same frenzy of excitement that it had last year at this time. Tobias and I make our way up to the fear landscape room, hand in hand. There are already crowds of people around the monitors outside the room.

            Tobias and I walk up to one of the monitors where we see our group of friends. “You look much more relaxed this year, my friend,” Zeke says to Tobias before slapping a hand on his shoulder.

            “Why were you nervous last year?” I ask, curious.

            Tobias just looks at me, a soft expression on his face, before whispering, “You.”

            We settle into easy conversations as we watch the initiates battle fears that none of us can see. It may be wrong, but I smile a little at how long it takes Jason to get through his fears. So far, it has taken him longer than any of the initiates.

            After all of the initiates have gone through their fear landscapes, the Dauntless leaders come over to us to get our notes on the initiates. We’ve ranked them based on their progress in the first two stages, and made notes that may help the leaders decide their final rankings.

Once we handed our papers off we were officially done with training the initiates for the year. Not two minutes after that Zeke had pushed drinks into our hands and was walking us toward his apartment. Apparently there was a ‘pre-party’ before the actual party he always had after the initiation banquet.

            This pre-party just consisted of our closest friends sitting around, drinking, and talking about nothing too important or heavy. By the time we had to head down to the initiation banquet all of us were pretty happy due to the drinks. Tobias had is arm wrapped around my waist, and I had mine wrapped around his. Though, mine was probably wrapped around him more for support than anything else.

            We made our way down to the pit and listened to Eric make his speech to the new initiates before we saw the final rankings posted.

 

  1.      Dane
  2.      Jason
  3.      Hector
  4.      Janis
  5.      Marci
  6.      Rylee
  7.      Avery
  8.      Nate
  9.      Holly
  10. Iris



 

I was happy to see that Hector was ranked so high. Over the past year I’ve gotten to know him and I know he was nervous about initiation. I was also happy to see that, even though she was ranked last, Iris made it through.

      Chaos erupted around us as the initiates celebrated their Dauntless initiation. Tobias slung his arm around my shoulder and pulled me close to him.

“I can finally go back to calling you Tris now,” he whispered into my ear before placing a soft kiss behind it. Tobias looks around the room before he starts to lead us out of the area.

Eventually I realize we are going to our spot at the bottom of the Chasm. As we make our way across the unsteady ground I wonder if Tobias has something important to tell me. The last time we were he we talked about my divergence. The last time we were here we shared our first kiss.

We sit on the jagged rocks, listening to the water crashing against the ground. We don’t say anything; Tobias just sits next to me, playing with my left hand as he leans his elbows on his knees.

I eventually lay my head on his shoulder and close my eyes to relax. I manage to clear my mind of everything right before I feel something cold and hard encircle one of my fingers. I look down and see Tobias has placed a ring on my left ring finger.

It is a skinny, black band with a single column of black diamonds going around the entire thing. It fit perfectly around my finger. I stare at the ring for a few seconds, understanding what _that_ ring on _that_ finger represented.

“Aren’t you supposed to ask before you put the ring on?” I ask. I meant for my voice to sound teasing, but it came out nervous and cracked a little at the end.

“Well, I was hoping to avoid all of the nerves of having to ask by just assuming you say yes,” Tobias said with a boyish smirk. It wasn’t often that I saw him look so young and unsure of himself.

“Hmm. I guess since I already have the ring on I can’t really say no then, huh?” I lightly extract my hand from Tobias’ so I can get a better look at the ring. It is elegant, but simple. It’s not too bulky to get in my way on a daily basis. It is just enough to serve its purpose without being too much.

I stare at the ring for a few more seconds before I look up at Tobias. Despite having already assumed I would say yes, he still looks nervous, more nervous than I have ever seen him.

“We both left our families behind in Abnegation. You left on better terms than I did but I thought… Now we could be each other’s family. If you don’t – “ I cut him off with a passionate kiss to his lips. His hands make their way into my hair to secure my lips to his. We break apart, both of us breathless from the kiss.

“Yes?” he asks.

“Yes.” I say before I kiss him again.

 

~.~.~

 

We spend a while longer in our secluded spot at the bottom of the Chasm. I know once we go meet back up with everyone at Zeke’s party things will get even crazier. Christina is bound to notice the ring on my finger, and that will lead to an interrogation from her about a _wedding_.

We spent most of our time at the bottom of the Chasm after Tobias proposed kissing, but we had talked a little bit. I was please to find out that Tobias was not too keen on the idea of a wedding either. We were both content with just getting all of the proper paperwork filled out. We don’t want a big spectacle made, which would be a given if Christina had anything to do with it.

As we make our way into Zeke’s apartment the party is already crazy. There are people everywhere, with a growing pile of empty bottles covering the floor. Thankfully, Tobias is standing to my left with my hand wrapped around his so my ring is not visible yet.

Tobias pushes his way through all of the people and we find our group of friends around the couch. We take a seat on the floor against the wall. Zeke notices us and hands us both a drink. I mistakenly reached for the drink with my left hand. Christina, who was sitting on the couch to my right, immediately zeroed in on the new accessory that was on my finger.

“Tris! What the hell is that?” Christina has been known to shout and scream when she is excited, but I have _never_ heard her voice get that high pitched.

“Jesus woman, you’re going to bust an eardrum or something,” Will laughs next to her.

Christina slaps his arm before she drops down to knees in front of me. She grabs my left hand, almost spilling my drink all over me in the process.

“This is… You two… I can’t believe it! Tell me _everything_!” she claps her hands together and sits cross legged right in front of Tobias and I. It is like there is some girl notification system and suddenly we are surrounded by not only our friends, but even a few girls I’ve never met before.

“Now, now what’s going on ladies?” Zeke says as he tiptoes his way between all of the girls surrounding us.

“They’re engaged!” Christina shouts, her excitement still getting the best of her.

“You’re what?” Zeke’s voice is surprisingly almost as high pitched as Christina’s. I can’t stop the giggle from escaping me, and I see Tobias shake lightly with laughter next to me.

Zeke looks at my finger and the shock slowly falls off of his face, replaced by a smile.

“I’m happy for you, man,” he says, going over to Tobias and slapping his back, “I guess this makes listening to you whine about her while she was still an initiate worth it.”

“What? What did you say?” this is the first I’ve heard that Tobias talked about me to his friends before we were actually together.

“He was always bitching about how different you were from other girls he’d met. There was also the moping about how you couldn’t be seen together because you were an initiate. It got quite annoying, no matter how great you turned out to be, Tris,” Zeke says with a laugh while staring at Tobias’ angry face.

“I did not bitch, and I did not mope,” Tobias says.

“I have witnesses,” Zeke says with a suddenly serious face.

I giggle at the turn of events. I lean up so that my lips are aligned with Tobias’ ear before I say, “I think it’s sweet that you cared so much, even then.”

Tobias smiles down at me before we continue on with our conversation with our friends.

Hours later Tobias and I are walking through the pit on our way back to our apartment. We are passing the tattoo parlor when I get an idea. I stop walking and drop Tobias’ hand before making my way into the parlor.

“Tori?” I shout. She is the only one, besides Tobias, that has ever tattooed me. Part of the reason is that there are very few female tattoo artists, and I would not feel comfortable with another man touching me no matter what their intentions were. Another reason was that I trusted Tori implicitly. She knew about my Divergence and tried to help me. I knew I could trust her with anything.

“Yeah?” I hear her shout from somewhere in the back. A few seconds later she comes out to the front of the parlor.

“Do you have time for a quick tattoo?” I ask. As soon as I say the words I feel Tobias place his hand on the small of my back.

“What are you doing?” he asks, but I ignore him when Tori says that she has time. I immediately take a seat at her station and she starts to set everything up. Tobias takes a seat next to me.

“I need another raven. Right here,” I point a little ways in front of the last raven on my chest. This new one will be almost right above my heart.

             Tobias grabs my hand. He knows my ravens signify my family. He knows that this new raven is him.

      It doesn’t take long for Tori to finish the raven. It is when she is cleaning up my new tattoo that she notices my ring.

      “Ah, I suppose a congratulations is in order?” she asks with a smile.

      Tobias and I just nod before we say our goodbyes. We make our way back to our apartment without incident. As soon as the door is closed Tobias pushes my body up against it with his arms on either side of my head.

      Tobias rests his forehead on mine, his blue eyes dark. “It’s just you and me now.”

      “Just you and me,” I manage to choke out before his lips crash down on mine. The kiss is passionate and needy, tongues colliding and teeth nipping. Our hands quickly rid each other of clothing. Tobias easily picks my body up and deposits me in the middle of our bed. He just stands at the foot of the bed for a few seconds, looking over my body. My hands cross over my chest under his stare.

      “Don’t hide yourself. Never again,” Tobias says as he covers my body with his. He languidly kisses me before moving his lips down my body. He stops at my breasts and pays equal attention to both. He moves down my stomach, his tongue swirling in my belly button for a few seconds before he makes his way down to my center.

      Oral sex is still fairly new to both of us, the first time either of us tried it on the other was only a few months ago. But, it is something I found I enjoy very much, giving and receiving.

      I can feel Tobias’ breath wash over my center, but he makes no move to touch me. After a few seconds he finally takes a long, slow lick up my entire entrance.

      “Tobias,” I can’t help but moan out as my hands make their way to the back of his head. My fingers weave their way through his hair as he continues working me over with his tongue.  It doesn’t take long for me to get close to the edge, so when Tobias inserts two fingers inside me my hips start to buck into his face as I reach my climax.

      He took his time making his way back up my body, stopping to pay attention to my hip bones and my breasts again. When he reached my face again his lips hovered over mine, close but not touching. Our breaths mixed for a few seconds before Tobias suddenly pushed into me. I couldn’t stop the loud moan that escaped my mouth; it spurred Tobias on as he increased his speed and pressure with his thrusts.

      Tobias sits up on his knees, his hands gripping my hips to his as he continues to thrust into me. My fingers grip the sheets beneath me and my back arches as I climax again. I felt Tobias’ thrusts falter and knew he reached his climax too. My entire body slumps into the bed as Tobias laid his body next to me.

            I turn my body so that my head is resting on Tobias’ chest. My fingers traced patterns along his warm skin as our bodies relaxed. Tobias places a soft kiss to the top of my head before we both fell into a deep sleep.


	10. Chapter 10

I wake up alone, but I can hear the shower running in the bathroom. I don’t have to go back into work for two days, but Tobias is needed in the control room.

            I scoot my body over to his side of the bed and lay my head on his pillow. I can never find the words to accurately describe his scent, its just _Tobias_. I know wherever he is I am safe, so his scent is always comforting to me.

            I wrap my arm around the pillow to situate myself more, and my eyes catch the glimmer of my new engagement ring on my left hand. I smile as I stare at the ring some more, admiring how the small amount of light coming from the cracked open bathroom door shines off of the black diamonds. I am so absorbed in the ring that I do not notice Tobias walk out of the bathroom, wrapped in just a towel while he runs a smaller one over his head to dry his hair.

            “You like it?” he asks, his voice unsure.

            “Very much,” I say, but I can feel my cheeks heat up at being caught admiring the ring. I watch as Tobias pulls out his clothes for the day before quickly dressing. As I watch him get ready for his day, I imagine what my parents would think about all of this.

            The last time I talked to my mother was when she came to visit me on visiting day during my initiation. She seemed to like Tobias then, even though she only knew him as my instructor. I wonder what my father would say, would he be happy I am happy? Is he still angry with me for choosing Dauntless over Abnegation?

            Then I wonder about Caleb. I picture him in his Erudite outfit from when I saw him last, wearing his pointless glasses. Would he like Tobias? Would they ever even meet each other?

            “Do you think…” I start, but I can’t get the words out of my mouth.

            “What?” Tobias asks as he sits on the edge of the bed to tie his shoes.

            “I think I want to at least tell my family. About this,” I point to my ring, “You don’t have to come. I’ll go to Abnegation today and talk with my parents, and maybe Erudite tomorrow to talk to Caleb…” the plan quickly forms in my head.

            “I could meet you in Abnegation tonight. We could have dinner with your parents. I won’t be able to go with you to Erudite tomorrow, but… I think it would be good to meet your parents officially,” Tobias says. At first he has a small, excited smile. But then it changes into somewhat of a cringe. I imagine him thinking about taking me to meet his father, the only blood family he has left.

            “That sounds… good, actually,” I smile at him, “Dinner is usually at 6 and it’s house 913. Do you – “

            “I think I’ll be able to find my way,” he says before he places a kiss on my forehead and then leaves for the Control Room.

            I take my time getting ready for my day after Tobias leaves. Once I shower I stand in front of our small closet and stare at all of my clothes. I am not ashamed to be Dauntless, but I don’t want to seem completely out of place in my old faction. I decide on black jeans, a black v-neck t-shirt, and then I grab the jacket that Tobias wore yesterday for our journey back home later tonight. The t-shirt will at least cover up my tattoos.

            I stop by the dining hall on my way out and grab a muffin to eat on my way to the Abnegation sector of the city. Just as I am leaving the dining hall Christina runs into me, grabs my arm, and starts to lead me back to the dining hall over to a table.

            “We’ve got to discuss wedding plans. I’m obviously your maid of honor so – “ I cut her off before she can say anymore.

            “Christina. We’re not having a wedding. We’re just signing the papers and that’s that.” I pick another chunk of muffin up and pop it in my mouth before I start to stand up to leave. Before I can get too far Christina pulls my arm and forces me back into my chair.

            “Tris! You have to have a proper wedding! I will not allow you two to just sign the papers and not do anything special. Cake! If you have a wedding you can have a huge Dauntless cake made just for you!”

            “We don’t want a bunch of attention, Christina. Good try with the cake thing though,” I take another bite of my muffin as I remember Tobias telling me he would only go to my funeral if they had cake. I look at my watch and realize I only have a few minutes to make it to the train tracks before I miss the train, “I’ve got to go. _No_ wedding, Christina.”

            I make my way to the train tracks just in time to jump on. I hold the bar on the side of the door as the train speeds across the city. It doesn’t seem to take as long as it should to get to the Abnegation sector. Maybe I am more nervous about visiting my family than I though. I jump off the train, taking a few steps to regain my balance.

            As I make my way down the streets I used to walk through on my way home from school I start to feel nervous. After my mother came to visiting day, I’m fairly certain that she wont be too angry about Tobias and I. But, I’m not sure what my father’s reaction will be. The last time I saw him was my choosing ceremony more than a year ago.

            I am too lost in thought to realize I have already made it to my old home. The house looks the same, but I know better. I know the inside has probably never been the same since Caleb and I left.

            I slowly walk up the steps to the door. I hope my mother is still home. It is still early, and she never used to leave for work for another thirty minutes. I know my father is likely already at work.

            I softly knock on the door and wait a few seconds before I hear the handle being turned from the inside. The door opens and my mother is standing before me, wearing her Abnegation grey robes and her long hair up in a bun. Her pale eyes seem to light up when she sees me.

            “Beatrice,” she says softly before her arms wrap around me. My own arms don’t hesitate to wrap around her as well.

            “What are you doing here? Come in, come in,” she says quickly as she ushers me inside the house. I look around and everything is exactly how it was a year ago. All of the furniture in the living room to my left is in the exact same place. As my mother walks us into the kitchen, I can see that everything in there was also the same. Seeing how nothing has changed in my old Abnegation home the past year I’ve been gone reminds me why I chose Dauntless in the first place. I wanted to be free. Free from others, free to change.

            My mother sits down at the kitchen table, and I take my normal seat across from her. I fold my hands in my lap, my fingers twisting my new engagement ring around my finger.

            “How are you, really?” my mother asks, her concern obvious in her voice.

            “I’m good,” I smile as I think of all of the good things happening in my life right now, “I came in first in my initiation class.” I blurt out.

            “That’s wonderful, Beatrice! What job did you choose?” after I start telling my mother about my job at the tattoo parlor our conversation flows easily. She never leaves for work, she just sits and listens to me tell her about my new life. We talk for hours about Dauntless, and about my new friends. I told her about how I still had a couple days off of work because I had been helping Tobias train the initiates. That is how we get onto the subject of Tobias.

            “We’ve…Well we’ve been together since my initiation,” I tell my mother; I can feel my face start to heat up at my admission. My hands wrap around the cup of hot tea my mother just made for me. I immediately regret my movement because I notice her eyes zero in on my left hand.

            “You two are engaged?” she asks, her face, surprisingly, lights up as she talks.

            “Yes, last night,” I tell her. She walks around the table and I stand to meet her. Her arms wrap around me, holding me tighter than she ever has before.

            “I’m so happy for you, Beatrice,” she tells me before walking back over to her seat. “Now, tell me more about this Four.”

            “Well, if it was okay with you, he’ll be here for dinner tonight. He wanted to meet you and dad.” I looked at my watch and was shocked to see it was already so late. Tobias would be here in less than an hour, and my father would be home any minute.

            “Wonderful! Lets start on dinner then. Oh, I was going to take Susan Black this bread today –“

            “I can take it if you’d like,” I offer.

            “Thank you, Beatrice. She’s just a few houses down, 921,” my mother says with a soft smile, “I’m sure she’ll be happy to see you.”

            I pull on the jacket of Tobias’ that I brought, it’s already dark outside and the temperature is steadily dropping, before grabbing the bread and walking out the door. I see a few people walking into their houses after a day of working before I am in front of Susan’s home.

            I walk up to the door and lightly knock three times. It only takes her a few seconds to answer the door.

            “Beatrice?” Susan gasps as she takes in my new appearance.

            “Hello, Susan,” I say before holding out the bread my mother made, “my mother made this for you.”

            “Thank you,” she says politely before taking the bread from my hands, “What -“ her Abnegation wired brain stops her from asking me any questions about why I am here.

            “I was just visiting my mother. I’m engaged,” I say, liking the words even more every time I say them.

            “Oh, congratulations!” she says excitedly.

            “Thank you. I’m sorry, I should get back. I hope you enjoy the bread,” I say before I turn to leave.

            I hear Susan say, “It was good to see you, Beatrice,” before she closes her door.

            As I make my way back to my childhood home I am lost in thought. I am only a couple houses away from mine when I feel a hand on my shoulder. I immediately tense before I hear a voice.

            “Beatrice Prior?” my blood runs cold as I realize who is touching me. Marcus Eaton. “What are you doing here?”

            My mind takes me back to when Tobias took me through his fear landscape. I can almost feel the sting of the belt around my wrist. I hate this man. I hate this man. I hate this man. Different scenarios of how I can make his suffer run through my mind before I hear feet running toward us.

            “Don’t touch her. Don’t you _ever_ touch her!” I hear Tobias shout as Marcus’ hand suddenly disappears from my shoulder. I turn around and see that Tobias pushed Marcus away from me, causing him to stumble back a few feet. His hand tightened around my shoulder after Tobias pushed him, trying to use me to keep himself from falling. I can feel a bruise start to form. Tobias softly pushes my body so that I am shielded behind his, out of Marcus’ line of sight.

            “What are you doing here?” Marcus’ voice is cold, colder than usual when he sees Tobias. They both stare at each other for an immeasurable amount of time. The tension between the two is palpable. This is the first time they have seen each other in the three years since Tobias chose Dauntless at his Choosing Ceremony.

            I see Tobias’ right hand twitch and form a fist. I know what’s about to happen. Before he can cause any damage I grab a hold of his arm and start to pull him back. I know if he truly wanted to he could overpower me and go after his father, but I’m hoping that won’t happen. The Abnegation will not be pleased if we start a fight with one of their leaders in the streets.

            “Tobias, lets go,” I say, still pulling on his arm though he has yet to move or unclench his fist.

            “Please,” I whisper. If we are out here much longer people will start to notice us. Tobias and Marcus haven’t said anything since Tobias first showed up, but neither of their eyes have strayed from the others’. I can feel the muscles in his arm start to loosen.

            “Stay away from her,” Tobias says one last time before he grasps my hand in his and we leave Marcus standing, shocked, in the streets. Instead of walking into the house, I take us around the side.

            “Are you okay?” I ask quietly, even though I already know the answer. Tobias does not respond, he just stands there with his fists clenching and then unclenching for a few minutes. His eyes rake over me, looking to make sure I am all right. Before I can register what he is doing he gently pushes my back against the side of the house. His eyes search mine for a few moments before his lips are on mine, frantic and needy. My hands wrap around his neck, gently pulling at the hair at the base of his neck.

            “I’m sorry,” I say as he pulls his lips away from mine to catch his breath. His lips move to my neck where he places wet, open-mouthed kisses. I know what he is trying to do. He needs to distract himself, push the memory of seeing his father for the first time in years to be back of his mind while he meets my parents.

            “Not your fault,” he mutters against my skin before placing one last kiss to my lips. He grabs my hands and we make our way back around the house and up to the door.

            “Ready?” I ask. After Tobias nods once I open the door.

            I walk us into the kitchen where my mother, and now also my father, are. Tobias lets go of my hand and reaches out to my father who made his way over to us.

            “Nice to meet you, sir. My name is Tobias Eaton,” I am surprised Tobias tells my parents his actual name. They’ll surely remember the articles Erudite published about his father. My father shakes Tobias’ outstretched hand, introducing himself as well.

            I see the recognition flash on my father’s face, but he doesn’t say anything about it. The Abnegation do not pry.

            “It’s nice to see you again, Tobias,” my mother says from where she is finishing dinner, not acknowledging his name change. He was Four when she met him on visiting day.

            While Tobias greets my mother my father walks over to me. The last time I saw him he was furious after I chose Dauntless instead of Abnegation. I do not know what I expect him to say, but I do not expect the soft kiss he places on the top of my head.

            We all sit at the table, my mother and father at the heads of the table while Tobias and I sit across from each other. We fill our plates with the plain chicken, nothing like the food I am now used to in Dauntless, but I am actually excited to have it again. It’s somewhat comforting to have the food from my old faction. We eat in silence for a while before I can’t take it anymore.

            “We’re getting married,” I blurt out. I look over to my father, the only one who didn’t know about our engagement. I’m surprised to see that everyone but me is laughing at the table.

            “Congratulations,” my father says, a small smile on his face.

            “You . . . you’re okay with it?” I ask. I know there is nothing my parents could do about the engagement even if they were against it, but it is nice to know that even though we are no longer in the same faction they approve of one aspect of my new life.

            “I wanted you to choose Abnegation. It’s safer for . . . _someone like you_. You chose Dauntless, but luckily have found someone who would die protecting you, “ my father holds up a hand to stop me as I open my mouth to say that I don’t need protecting, “Both of you are safer with the other looking out for you.”

            I nod at his words, knowing what he says is true. I assume my mother told him about my Divergence. I can also assume that they deducted that Tobias is also Divergent.

            We finish dinner with some quiet conversation about our life in Dauntless. We tell my parents about training initiates together, and how we’re not planning to have an actual wedding. When I tell them I am going to visit Caleb tomorrow to tell him about our engagement my mother tells me to tell him that they miss him.

            I didn’t expect to feel this much relief after seeing my parents for the first time in so long, and telling them about Tobias and I. It’s nice to know that even though I left them for another faction they still care about me.

            Tobias and I didn’t linger after dinner. I tried to offer to help my mother clean up but she wouldn’t let me. We were now standing at the door about to leave.

            “You’ll take care of my daughter,” my father said to Tobias, stating it as more of a fact than a question, as he shook his hand one last time.

            “With my life,” Tobias says.

            My mother hugs me one last time, whispering to me how happy she is that I came to visit. My father kisses me on the top of my head before he looks from me to Tobias and says, “Stay safe.”

            With that we walk out the door and start to make our way back to the train tracks. I look over at Tobias and see his eyes shifting around, looking around every corner and in every shadow to see if his father is there. I know we should wait until we are in the privacy of our apartment before we talk about their encounter so I squeeze Tobias’ hand to let him know I’m there for him.

            Our trip back to Dauntless is uneventful, but by the time we enter our apartment I am ready to go to sleep. I know there are important matters to discuss before its time to go to sleep though. I remove the jacket I was wearing, and hear Tobias gasp from where he is standing on the other side of our apartment.

            Tobias quickly walks over to me and pushes the neck of my t-shirt out of the way to see the bruise on my shoulder. You can vaguely see the outline of a hand.

            “ _He_ did this to you,” Tobias says, his voice colder and harder than I have ever heard. I can see the rage burning behind his eyes as he stares at the bruise on my shoulder that has formed the shape of his father’s hand.

            “I’m fine, Tobias. I’m okay, it’s only a bruise,” I tell him, pushing his hand away so that my shirt will cover up the bruise. I hoped my words would calm him, even if only a little bit. If anything, his fiery rage only intensifies.

            “No! It’s not _okay_ , and you’re not _fine_. He did shit like that to me for sixteen years, Tris, it’s not fine! I’m not going to let him touch you. Never again,” Tobias says as he starts to pace the small apartment. I let him continue for a few more minutes. He paces and mumbles under his breath, I catch a few curses but nothing else.

            I walk over to him and push him so he is sitting on the edge of the bed. He spreads his legs wide enough for me to stand between them. I put my hands on either side of his face and angle it upward toward mine.

            “I don’t need protecting. You know that. We never have to see him again. He’s never going to hurt me or you again,” I tell him, my eyes never leaving his.

            Tobias’ hands suddenly reach up and pull my face to his, the kiss is passionate and powerful and everything that both of us need right now. He puts his hands on the back of my thighs and pulls me up to straddle his waist. I can feel him underneath me, already hard. My hips grind against his as he makes quick work of my top. I reach down and remove his shirt, my hands gliding down his chest. Our lips only part long enough for each of us to remove the other’s shirt.

            Tobias sets me back on my feet, his hands drifting along the skin of my abdomen. My fingers weave through his hair as he places soft kisses along my skin. His hands undo the button of my jeans before sliding them and my underwear down all at once.

            Tobias stands and turns us so the bed is now behind me. He quickly rids himself of his pants and boxers before gently pushing me down on the bed. He situates himself between my legs, our bodies aligned perfectly. I can feel the entire length of his body covering mine, though the weight of it is not painful. This is the safest place I could ever be.

 His lips don’t leave mine as his hands explore. One of them eventually makes it to where I ache between my legs, and he slides two fingers inside me easily.

            Tobias’ lips leave mine and he buries his head in my shoulder, his lips nipping at my neck. It all becomes too much for me, “Please, please, _please_.”

            He brings his face back up to mine, resting his forehead on mine before he slowly pushes into me. He doesn’t rush as he continues to thrust into me. Tobias slowly rocks into me, taking his time to bring us both pleasure.

            Eventually both of us are covered in a light sheen of sweat. All I can feel is Tobias, his chest sliding against mine with his every movement, his lips on my neck, his breath covering my face. All there is in this moment is him.

            By the time we both reach our climaxes we’re too exhausted to do anything but collapse in bed next to each other.


	11. Chapter 11

Tobias and I take our time getting ready in the morning. After the emotional turmoil we both experienced yesterday, me from seeing my parents and Tobias from seeing his father, we both needed some calm. I was getting ready to go to Erudite and see Caleb, while Tobias was getting ready for a long day in the Control Room. They had some monthly computer system check that required a lot of tedious work from him, and he hated it. He told me it was nothing but staring at the computer screen for hours. I thought that was what is job was already, though.

            Neither of us were in a hurry to do what we needed to do today, so we took our time again at breakfast. We had spent a good twenty minutes listening to Zeke and Uriah tell tales of how they tormented each other while they were growing up.

            “Man, mom was so angry after that,” Zeke finishes his story about how he replaced Uriah’s shampoo with pink hair dye. “How was it yesterday, meeting the parents and all?” Zeke says with a smirk.

            “It went fine,” I say with a shrug. They don’t need to know all of the details about what happened in Abnegation yesterday.

            “Ouch. Didn’t impress the parents eh, Four?” Uriah snickered.

            “You know, I always wondered why you chose Dauntless, Tris. Don’t get me wrong, you kick ass here, but… Abnegation to Dauntless must have been a hard decision,” Zeke says. Tobias opens his mouth, I’m sure to tell Zeke to mind his own business, but I speak before he can.

            “I’m not selfless enough for Abnegation, I knew that for a long time. I don’t like people knowing my secrets, I was never very interested in school, and I’m not… peppy. Dauntless seemed like my only other option,” I say with a shrug, and it’s true. I knew I could never fit with any other faction even though my test results were Dauntless, Abnegation, and Erudite. I have never regretted my decision to join Dauntless.

            “Huh, and your parents were okay with your decision?”

            “Not at first, my father was outraged after the choosing ceremony. But I think he came to terms with it, eventually.”

            Tobias and I left the dining hall shortly after that conversation. He walked me to the train tracks, trying to procrastinate before he had to go to the Control Room.

            “You know, the sooner you get in there the sooner you’ll finish it,” I tell him.

            “Are you saying you didn’t want me to walk you to the train?” Tobias teasingly asks me. His hands wrap around my waist and pull me into him, making it hard to focus on anything other than the feel of his body touching mine.

            I don’t answer him; I just angle my head up to his before he leans down to kiss me. It is short and sweet and perfect. He then moves his lips down to my neck where he places soft kisses along my skin there.

            “You’ll be back for dinner?” Tobias asks, his words mumbled against the skin of my neck.

            “Mmm, yes,” I tell him just as the sound of the train approaching reaches our ears.

            “I’ll see you tonight,” Tobias tells me before I jump on the train.

 

~.~.~

 

            The ride to Erudite does not last long. I jump off of the train and make my way to the same building I went to the first time I came to visit Caleb. This time the people moving out of my way does not surprise me. After I tell the Erudite member behind the front desk that I am here to see Caleb I see him reach for a phone, dial a few numbers, and then I hear his voice in front of me and through loud speakers throughout the building say, “Caleb Prior, you have a guest at the front desk.”

            I only have to wait for a few minutes before I see Caleb making his way through the small crowd toward me.

            “Beatrice? What are you doing here?” Caleb asks, his eyes looking over me. I keep my left hand hidden in my pocket so I don’t alert him to the real reason why I am here just yet.

            “I just wanted to talk to you. Is now okay?” I ask. Caleb seems different. Even more different than when I visited him during initiation. I know it is silly to think he wouldn’t change, I’ve changed too, but his calculating eyes covered by his senseless glasses upset me.

            Caleb leads me outside; almost to the same place we were last time I visited. He says nothing as we walk over and sit on an old rusted bench. I don’t know what I expected of him from this visit, but I didn’t think he would be this distant.

            “What did you want, Beatrice?” Caleb asks.

            “Is something wrong? If this is a bad time I can go –“

            “No! Don’t go. I’m just surprised to see you,” his eyes look softer now, not as harsh and calculating as they were just a few minutes earlier.

            “I miss you,” I say, and it’s true. I miss my brother, I spent sixteen years seeing him everyday and I have only seen him twice in the last year.

            “I miss you, too,” Caleb smiles down at me, finally looking more like the brother I grew up with.

            “I’m engaged,” I tell him, lifting up my left hand slightly to show him the physical proof on my hand.

            “You’re… Who?” he asks, his eyes still locked on the ring.

            “He’s actually originally from Abnegation. Tobias Eaton,” even just saying Tobias’ name brings a small smile to my face.

            “Eaton? Marcus’ son? The one who –“

            “Yes,” my tone turns defensive. I don’t know how Caleb would perceive Tobias for choosing Dauntless to get away from his father, and I don’t want to fight with him.

            “You love him?” Caleb asks, his voice skeptical.

            “Yes. Very much,” I look down at my ring, remembering the moment, just two days ago, when Tobias put it on my finger. I think of the way he kissed me after I told him yes, they way he made love to me that night and made me feel like the most cherished person in the world.

            “I think you two would like each other. He’s a bit rough around the edges . . . but passionate about what he believes in.”

            Caleb hums in acknowledgment before standing up, “Do you want me to show you around Erudite?”

            “Is that allowed?” I ask. If Caleb ever came to visit me at Dauntless, giving him a tour definitely wouldn’t be on my list of things to do. All of the factions like to keep to themselves as much as possible.

            “Come on,” Caleb says before he starts to walk back to the main building we were in before. We walk through the crowd, they all move out of our way as we make our way toward an elevator. As the doors are closing I can see that everyone in the main lobby is still staring at us. They all have the same hungry, eager to learn, look in their eyes as they watch us.

            “Is everyone here always like that?” I ask Caleb.

            “It’s Erudite, they – we – like to learn.”

            We stop after only going up a couple floors and make our way down a few brightly lit hallways. As we are making our way down one of the hallways a boy – probably about my age – bumps into me.

            “Sorry,” I mumble as he stops and adjusts his glasses on his face and closes the book he was reading while he was walking.

            “My fault,” the boy says as he looks over at my brother. His eyes flash with something, dislike or anger or maybe even distrust. The boy nods his head at my brother, “Caleb.”

            “Fernando, this is my sister, Beatrice. Beatrice, Fernando was in my initiation class,” Caleb says, by the tone of his voice and the look Fernando gave him earlier they are clearly not close.

            “Nice to meet you, Fernando,” I say politely.

            “You too, Beatrice,” Fernando says with a genuine smile before he walks away.

            Caleb and I continue walking, though I do not know where exactly we’re heading. I wonder if maybe they have apartments on the higher floors of the building. The only places I have ever been to in Erudite are the main lobby and Jeanine’s office.

            We reach another elevator, which I find strange, and get in again, “Where are we going?”

            “I have someone I want you to meet,” is all I get from Caleb. The doors to the elevator open and we walk down another bright hall before stopping in front of a door I recognize.

            “Why are we – “ before I can finish my question Caleb opens the door to Jeanine’s office. I don’t make any effort to walk into the room, my mind already telling me to get out of here as fast as possible.

            “It’s okay, Beatrice,” Caleb says, and there is a part of me that thinks I shouldn’t believe him even though he is one of the only people I should be able to trust with my life.

            “I should really get back – “ I start to say but then there are two Erudite members behind me, gently pushing me forward and into Jeanine’s office.

            “Come in, Beatrice,” I hear Jeanine say from her office, making me want to leave even more. With the two Erudite members behind me I don’t have a choice but to enter her office. They’re Erudite, but they seem fit enough that I couldn’t take both of them at once. I slowly walk into Jeanine’s office, taking a seat in the same chair I was forced into last time I was here. Caleb stands out of the way, almost in the corner of the office.

            “I’ve been waiting for you, Beatrice,” Jeanine says, folding her arms in front of her on the desk. Her eyes study me just like the other Erudite member’s eyes studied me in the lobby.

            “What were you waiting for?” I ask.

            “You’re… interesting. Making such a big switch, going from Abnegation to Dauntless is rare. I looked up your aptitude test and you got Abnegation. So, why choose Dauntless?” Jeanine asks me.

            “I don’t see why my decision matters much now, there’s nothing we can do about it anymore.”

            “I had one of our members who is unfathomably good with computers work on figuring out what your _true_ results were.”

            My blood goes cold. _My true results_. So many thoughts race through my head. Jeanine knows I am Divergent. Jeanine has me in her office, surrounded by guards. My brother brought me to this room. My brother _knew_.

            “You had an aptitude for three factions, Beatrice: Abnegation, Dauntless, and Erudite. Two factions is rare enough, but three? That’s why I was waiting,” Jeanine says before she carefully motions to the guards standing behind me. I stand before they reach me, kicking my chair in the direction of one before trying to make a run for the door past the second one. He grabs my arm and I try to twist out of his grasp. I pull my other arm back but feel another hand grab my arm and hold me back. I look up and see Caleb.

            “You traitor. You’re my _brother_ and you brought me here! Why would you do this to me?” I shout, still struggling against the heavy arms that are restraining me.

            “We need to control the Divergent, your brother knows that. With you here, we’ll be able to test serums and make sure that the Divergent do not get out of control,” Jeanine says calmly. She then waves her hands at the two men holding me and they start to push me out the door.

            “No! Where are we going? I’m not – “

            “Shut up!” one of the guard’s shouts at me, his hand squeezes my arm even tighter. My mind races through all of the training I went through a year ago. But, I’m outnumbered and there is no way I can take on both of these men at once.

            We make it to a room, but when we enter I see a more accurate term to describe it would be a lab. There is a metal examination table in the center and the guards wrangle me down on to it. I know I have no choice but to do what they say, but that does not mean I am going to make it easy for them. I think I even bit one of them on the arm while squirming as much as possible. Eventually they strap my body down with restraints around both of my ankles, wrists, and one around my stomach.

            Jeanine walks in shortly after they have me strapped down. She smiles when she sees me. “Comfortable?”

            “No.”

            “The first thing I’m curious about, Beatrice, is your resistance to other serums. You may know that there are countless different serums distributed to each faction based on their needs. This one” Jeanine holds up a syringe with a grayish looking serum in it, “will be the . . . fastest way to conclude whether it affects you.”

            The sinister smile on Jeanine’s face gives me no hope for whatever this serum will do to me. As soon as she injects the serum into my neck I understand why this was the fastest way to decide if other serums could affect me.

            Because I

            Can’t

            Think.

 

~.~.~

 

            I do not know how long the screaming lasted, or how long my muscles stayed tense with fear. I do know that my throat is now scratchy and sore, and my muscles feel like they did the first few days of initiation, sore and strained. My eyes won’t open, but I can hear people around me talking.

            “Take this to Dauntless, Eric wanted it. Tell him it’s time,” Jeanine. That is Jeanine’s voice. Dauntless? Eric? What is happening at Dauntless? I try to ask but all that comes out of my mouth is a strangled moan.

            “Ah, we’re done for the day, Beatrice. Tomorrow we’ll take a look at that frustrating brain of yours,” Jeanine says, handing over some kind of disk to the man standing next to her. Once he has the disk he leaves.

            “Dauntless?” I ask, and she understands.

            “Nothing that you need to worry about,” is all I get before two new guards walk in and start to undo the restraints around me.

            “No! What are you doing?” I shout at her as the guards start to usher me out of the room. My legs shake as I try to walk, still sore from whatever she injected into me.

            “While you are an integral part of what I need to accomplish, Beatrice, that does not mean I am telling you what is happening outside of these walls,” Jeanine says before the door closes behind me.

            The guards lead me to a bathroom. They give me a pair of black pants and a blue shirt, both a size too big for me. They take my shoes, watch, engagement ring, and the heart necklace that Tobias gave me the day of my initiation banquet. They also have me remove my nose piercing, tossing the stud in a trashcan. Once I am done changing they lead me to a cell. In the corner is a pallet for me to sleep on, a single blanket and pillow left on it. The walls are white and too bright for me. I am too used to the darkness that comes with the Dauntless compound.

            I walk over and sit on the pallet. I look around at the small space that has suddenly become my home and wonder if I will ever make it out of the Erudite compound and back to Tobias.


	12. Chapter 12

**_TOBIAS_ **

****

            After I watch Tris jump on the train I head back into the Dauntless compound. Instead of going right to the Control Room I go to the main office down in the Pit. The main office is where initiates go to choose their jobs, get their apartment, and get settled into Dauntless. It is also where to get marriage paperwork.

            I decided that after Tris gets back from Erudite tonight I would show her the paperwork. Just like I did with the proposal, I’m hoping that we can just sign the papers and be done with it. Neither of us want a big wedding, much to Christina’s disappointment. I just want to be able to call Tris _my_ _wife_.

            I slowly make my way to the Control Room. We have a monthly computer system check, which means all day we watch the computer screens as they search through each file looking for anything out of the ordinary. By the time I enter the Control Room Zeke has already started the system check.

            I set the papers down as I sit in my chair and watch the screen for anything interesting.

            “What’s that?” Zeke asks, looking for anything more exciting than the computer in front of him.

            “Marriage license,” I tell him. While my outward appearance does not show it, my heart starts to beat faster after saying the words. Marriage.

            I never had a solid family. I didn’t grow up with a mom who cared for me, and a dad who came home from work with a smile on his face. My mother abandoned me and left me with my father who locked me in closets and beat me with his belt.

            But, now I have Tris. She’s my family now.

           

~.~.~

 

            By the time Zeke and I enter the dining hall I expected Tris to be back. I’m disappointed when I look over at where Christina, Will, and Uriah are already seated and do not see her there. Zeke and I quickly grab our food and join our friends.

            “Have any of you seen Tris?” I ask.

            “Nope. Where has she been all day?” Uriah asks with his mouth full of food. This earns him a smack on the back of his head from Marlene.

            “She went to Erudite to visit her brother,” my words trail off as Eric and Max walk to the front of the dining hall and call everyone’s attention.

            “War is starting! The Erudite need our help exterminating Divergent Rebels. Their existence among us is dangerous; they cannot be controlled. Those of you who are true Dauntless will join us at Erudite headquarters to help them eliminate the Rebels!” Eric shouts. There are people already out of their seats before he finishes his speech. He must have already been talking to people, planning to have certain people join him. Max leads the way out of the compound, while Eric watches everyone leave.

            “Shit,” Zeke curses next to me, “Watch out for Uriah, okay? Just… Trust me,” is all he says before he runs after all of the others who are following Max. There is nothing I can do but watch as almost half of my faction jumps up and starts to follow.

            Eric walks up to me, a smirk on his face that tells me nothing good is going to come from this conversation. Eric only looks that happy when he is causing someone else pain.

            “I’ll say hi to your girlfriend for you,” he says as he shoves a disk in my hands. My right hand is already in a fist about to aim for his face before someone pulls me back. Will.

            “Not the time, man,” he says but all I can do is glare at him.

            Tris. Is she still at Erudite? Do they know she is Divergent? Eric seemed pretty confident that he would be seeing her before I do. I look down at the disk in my hand and realize it is my only hope for answers.

Everyone who stayed loyal to Dauntless is shouting over each other. The entire dining hall is in chaos. The disk in my hand is weighing me down in my place though, just looking around me. It is as if our entire system collapsed with just a few words. Just as I am about to leave Tori starts to call everyone’s attention.

            “The Divergent are not dangerous. Just different from the rest of us, they can’t be controlled. That is why Erudite want to get rid of them, the Divergent threaten the system that the Erudite created and love,” Tori tries to calm everyone with this, but it just gives them even more questions about what is happening.

            “Go to the control room and bring me the laptop that is sitting in the far right corner,” I tell Will before I walk up to Tori.

            “Eric left me this,” I hold up the disk. Tori looks relieved to see me, as if she thought that I might have left with the traitors.

            “Do you know what’s on it?” she asks.

            “No, Will is bringing a laptop down from the Control Room,” I respond.

            “The first thing we need to do is elect new leaders. Dauntless rules state that we need an odd number, at least three. Does anyone have any nominations?” Tori asks. The remaining Dauntless crowd all around the section of tables most of us are around. I look around and see who has stayed. I see Uriah and Shauna talking, most likely about Zeke. I see Christina and Marlene both looking worried, and Lynn is talking with her younger brother, Hector.

            “Tori!” someone behind me shouts, and I nod. Tori has already taken initiative in the first few minutes after all of this has happened, she’ll make a good leader.

            “Four,” Will says as he walks up to me and hands me the laptop I sent him to get. He nods his head at me before walking back over to Christina.

            I never wanted to be a leader. Max has been trying for years to get me to reconsider and become a Dauntless leader. But, Tris is gone. Saving one person in a time of war, if that is what has just started, will not be anyone else’s priority. If I become a leader I can make sure that whatever action we take against Erudite ends with Tris getting out safely.

            I nod, accepting my nomination. A few minutes later we have our new Dauntless leaders; myself, Tori, and Harrison.

Our next order of business is finding out what is on the disc Eric gave me. Part of me thinks I should look at it alone, not with every remaining Dauntless member around me, but that does not seem to be an option. I sit at the table and open the laptop Will brought me, immediately inserting the disk.

It is an audio file. I try to keep my growing anger in check as I press play. But nothing I could have done would prepare me for the screaming that started. Immediately, I know who it is that’s screaming. I know why Eric looked so smug while handing me the disk. Because it’s Tris screaming.

My hands clench into fists, wanting to fight off whatever so obviously caused her so much pain. The realization that I can’t do that hits me in the gut. My mind lists off all of the new information it has been given to process in such a short amount of time.

Half of my faction has joined Erudite.

Erudite have just declared war against the Divergent.

Tris is at Erudite.

Tris is Divergent.

 

**_TRIS_ **

 

            I never really fall asleep. I spend my entire first night at Erudite trying to think of possible ways that I could escape only to realize that there is absolutely nothing I can do. Jeanine will run her tests on me and when she is done she’ll kill me.

            I’ll never see my friends again. I’ll never see my family again. I’ll see Caleb, but I no longer consider him family. Most importantly, I’ll never see Tobias again.

            The door suddenly swings open. I expect to see one of the guards who escorted me around yesterday, but that is not who is there.

            “Come on, Stiff,” Peter says as he walks over to me, yanking me to my feet.

            “What are _you_ doing here?” I spit out at him as he continues to drag me out of the room, his hand squeezing my arm so hard I’m sure a bruise will form later today. Peter does not answer my question.

Once we make it out of the room he lets go of my arm and leads me through the winding halls of Erudite. We round a corner and I see a group of Dauntless. I feel a surge of relief, thinking that Dauntless may have taken over the building, but then I see blue armbands around them.

“Your boyfriend isn’t here. Only about half of us came,” Peter says as we continue walking. A group of Dauntless heads our way, and I see the one of the last people I would have expected to be a traitor. Zeke.

I stare at him as we pass each other. Zeke can’t be a traitor. But he’s here, so that means he is. He passes me without acknowledging my presence. Peter stops walking and opens the door we have reached.

I enter the room and immediately see a giant machine. I recognize it from school; it takes some kind of picture of your brain.

“Did you have a nice evening, Beatrice?” Jeanine asks but I do not respond. During my sleepless night, after I realized there is no way for me to escape this hell, I decided to make Jeanine’s job of studying the Divergent as hard as possible. No matter what she tries, I’ll do whatever I can to make it fail. She’s going to kill me anyway.

Jeanine realizes I am not going to answer her and motions for the guards to put me on the table that slides into the large machine.

“We’re going to take some pictures of your brain. Stay still,” Jeanine says before leaving the room. I see her enter the room attached to this one. There is a glass window separating the rooms as she watches me. One person is left in the room with me, a woman in a white lab coat with glasses covering her eyes. I wonder if she actually needs them, or just wears them to fit in like Caleb does.

The woman turns on the machine and I suddenly remember what I learned about this machine in school. _MRI scans require that the patient lay still for best results._

Without thinking about it I start to thrash my head around. I do not care that I look ridiculous, I care that I ruin Jeanine in any way that I can.

“Stay still, Beatrice!” I hear Jeanine’s voice shout throughout the room. There must be some sort of intercom between the two rooms, hooked up to speakers in this room. The sound of Jeanine’s voice makes me even angrier and I start to shake my head even more vigorously.

I hear a door slam and then the table that I am on is slid out from under the machine. Jeanine is standing next to me, her anger clearly visible on her features.

“You _will_ stay still for this and you _will_ cooperate.”

“You can’t make me do anything! You can keep me locked up in that tiny room all you want, but you can’t make me stay still enough for this picture, and you can’t control me during a simulation!” I shout at her, the anger in my voice surprising even me.

“You have two choices, Beatrice. Either you cooperate with us, or we bring your boyfriend here and run the tests on him. Which would you prefer?”

I hate her.

I hate her.

_I hate her._

           

~.~.~

 

            After the scan Jeanine has Peter escort me back to my cell. I am not surprised when, just a few hours later, Peter is back and taking me to a new room. I sit in a chair just like the one everyone uses for the aptitude test. But, I know what is coming this time.

            Jeanine says nothing has she injects me with what I assume is her first test serum she hopes will work on the Divergent.

 

~.~.~

 

            I am back in my cell, lying on my bed. I stare at the ceiling, thinking about nothing when the door is thrown open so hard it smacks against the wall. I jump, not expecting the intrusion, and see Tobias and a few other Dauntless standing in the doorway.

            “Tobias,” his name falls out of my mouth as I run over to him. There is no time for the reunion that I want, though. He grabs my hand and we start running. I don’t know how they know their way around the Erudite compound, but we weave through all of the halls and stairways until we meet traitor Dauntless in one of the stairwells. My body is too weak and tired to do anything but clutch Tobias’ hand as the gunshots sound through the enclosed space.

            Tobias’ hand suddenly pulls me to the ground, my legs giving out from under me. I look at him, not understanding why we’re on the ground. Then I see the blood. _So much blood_.

            For a few seconds all I can do is stare at the gunshot wound in his chest and the blood that is seeping out from it. Then I feel the tears as they start flowing freely from my eyes. It is when Tobias’ grip loosens around my hand and his eyes close that I am able to move again. I grab his face and shout at him. I yell at him not to leave me.

            “Tris! You have to leave Tobias; we have to leave _now_. Come on!” I look over at the man shouting at me. He is obviously a loyal Dauntless, there is no blue armband on him. _But how does he know Tobias’ real name?_

            All of the tension leaves my body as I realize what is going on. Even though I now know this is not the real Tobias I lean down and place a soft kiss to his lips because I think it will be one of the last times I am able to do that.

 

~.~.~

 

            I wake in the simulation room to Jeanine’s aggravated mutterings. She is talking in the corner with some other people in white lab coats. She notices me waking up and glares at me as she continues her conversation.

            Peter is suddenly next to me. He pulls me out of the chair and starts to lead me down the now familiar hallways to my cell. As we are walking my mind replays the simulation, replays watching Tobias die. I don’t notice those around me until someone roughly bumps into my shoulder.

            “Fucking Stiff,” I hear the person mutter under their breath, just loud enough for me to hear. I look up and am not surprised to see Jason. “Where’s your boyfriend when you need him, huh?” the sadistic smirk on his face causes me to crack.

I quickly shrug off Peter’s grip on my arm. I am not worried about posture or accuracy. I just punch and kick anywhere that I can. I get a few good hits in before Peter pulls me away and quickly ushers me the rest of the way to my cell.

“What’s wrong with you? You think attacking people is going to make this easier on you?” Peter spits out at me as we enter my cell.

“They’re going to kill me anyway. I’m not going to make it easy.”

“You can never just do what anyone says. You have to make things your way because you’re so _special_ ,” Peter says with an eye roll in my direction.

            “You think I want this to be happening? You think I want to be so _special_ that I’m held here against my will? I hate this place and everyone in it for what they’re trying to do, so why would I make anything easy on them?” I shout at him. I’ve only been here a day and it already feels like it has been a lifetime. I want to punch Peter for what he is saying. I want to punch everyone in this building.

            Peter has no response for me and leaves me alone in my cell.


	13. Chapter 13

The days here all seem to blend together. So much so that I have no idea how long I’ve been at Erudite. Maybe two weeks, maybe two months. Sometimes I spend my entire day in my cell, others Jeanine has me brought to her so she can test a new Divergent-proof serum on me. They never work. The simulations never fail to ruin me though. They get worse and worse each time. They’re always about the same thing: Tobias or my parents. I always have to watch the ones I love the most die in front of me, because of me.

            I found out a while ago how she knew how to hurt me the most. Caleb. He told her to put Tobias and my parents in the simulations. Apparently Jeanine thinks that the more emotionally attached I am to the simulation, the more likely it is to work. They haven’t. My only saving grace is that Caleb didn’t know about my other friends from Dauntless.

            It would be logical to want Jeanine to make a serum that works just so that she’ll put me out of my misery. I know that once she makes the serum I’m dead. But the anger and frustration and disappointment on her face after I wake myself up from a simulation are is only source of joy here.

            I think every few days they take me to a bathroom so I can shower and change into whatever clothes they bring me, it could be more frequent though. They always bring food to my cell, but watching my loved ones die in front of me always takes away any desire I have to eat anything. I was skinny and bony before; it’s worse now.

            I’ve seen more familiar Dauntless faces in the halls. It shocks me that so many members of my faction _chose_ this. I’ve seen Zeke a few more times and I’m convinced he does not agree with Erudite. Every time he sees me his eyes wince just a little bit, as if he knows the torture they’re putting me through most days. Maybe he changed his mind, or maybe he never agreed with them to begin with. I probably won’t ever find out.

            Jeanine seems to be getting angrier with me every time a new serum does not work. It’s as if it is my fault my brain is this way, like I chose to be this difficult, this different.

            Peter is still the one to escort me to and from wherever I am sent. It is as if Jeanine knows how much I hate him and wants to hurt me that much more by having me see him every day. It wouldn’t surprise me.

            I think it is still early morning when the door to my cell opens. Peter doesn’t need to say anything. I stand up and walk out with him. Right before Peter opens the door to the simulation room a woman walks out. She has black hair with curls going all over the place, and olive skin. I notice a few other features on her, like her dark eyes and sharp jaw, but I keep coming back to her hooked nose, and the way her ears stick out. _I know that nose; I know those ears_.

            The woman takes no notice of me before she starts to walk away. I don’t think before I shout, “Evelyn!” as I turn around to see if she responds. Her head whips around, darks eyes focused on me. My mouth falls open in shock. Is Evelyn Eaton actually alive? What is she doing at Erudite?

            I do not have time to think about these questions before Peter pushes me into the room. Jeanine is sitting in her usual seat; syringe ready. As I walk over to my chair I say, “Evelyn Eaton is supposed to be dead. I went to her funeral.”

            Jeanine’s head snaps up, her dark eyes glaring at me. I hit a nerve. A small smiles forms on my face. “Sit down, Beatrice,” is all she says in response before she sticks the needle in my neck.

 

~.~.~

 

            The city is dark. The only light is coming from the bright moon in the sky. All around me people are screaming and fighting and dying. I don’t know what to do as I watch all of this happen. There are people from every faction in the streets fighting for their lives. _Why is this happening?_

            I hear my name shouted behind me and look to see both of my parents running toward me in their Abnegation gray robes. Before I can even take a step toward them they are both shot in the chest, blood seeping through their clothes. My mouth opens to scream, but nothing comes out as I watch their lifeless bodies fall to the ground.

            An arm suddenly wraps around my stomach before I can do anything and starts to lead me away from my parents. I try to fight them off, but stop when I realize it is Tobias carrying me away from the danger. He loosens his grip on me so I can run easier, his hand holding mine now. We run to the nearest building, which happens to be Erudite headquarters.

            The building is eerily quiet given all that is happening outside. Tobias says nothing as we walk through the building. I don’t know what we’re looking for or why we’re here, but at least we are not outside. Tobias walks me over to a wall and presses my back against it.

            “Are you okay?” he asks, but before I can respond a gunshot sounds through the large room and Tobias’ body slumps to the ground.

            “No!” I scream as I fall to my knees next to him and tears start to blur my vision. I grab Tobias’ head in my hands, trying to keep him awake. It is then that I notice his ears. Tobias once told me that he always hated his ears – they stick out a little further than most peoples. I always liked that though. But, the Tobias lying in front of me does not have those same ears as mine does.

            I hear rustling in front of me and look up. Jeanine is standing there, a gun in her hand. She is the one who shot this Tobias.

            “Nice try.”

 

~.~.~

 

            When I wake up from the simulation the image of Tobias lying on the ground in front of me, dead, is still fresh in my mind. So is the image of Jeanine holding the gun that shot him. I don’t think before I throw my body into Jeanine’s. She is already seething that this new serum didn’t work but I do not care. My hands wrap around her neck and I squeeze with all of the strength I have.

            It is only seconds later that someone grabs my arms and throws me across the room. Peter. I move to lunge at the both of them as Peter helps Jeanine up but more traitor Dauntless have entered the room and hold me back.

            I thrash and try to get away from them but I am too weak to accomplish anything. I scream at her; tell her she’ll never win and that she has failed. It is as if all of my anger toward Jeanine has finally reached its breaking point and all I want to do is cause her as much pain and hurt as she has caused me. I continue to scream and thrash until Jeanine walks over to me and slaps me across my face. I wasn’t expecting that.

            “You and your divergence threaten everything this city has worked so hard to protect! You will tell me how you know you’re in a simulation and cooperate – do you understand?” I could see it in her eyes, the anger and determination to make a divergent-proof serum. And I knew that I would never survive it. I would never make it out of this compound and back to Tobias and my parents and my friends.

            “No. You can put me through as many simulations as you want; I’m _never_ going to let you control me. You can threaten to kill me, but I don’t care. I know I’m not getting out of here alive. I’m not going to let you win.”

            The guards start to lead me out of the room. I am too tired to resist.

 

~.~.~

 

            The door to my cell opens. I know it is Peter bringing in some kind of food for dinner. I also know that I will not be able to keep any food down. I don’t bother to look at him from where I sit, curled up in the corner with knees pulled to my chest with my forehead resting on them.

            I hear him set the food down, but I do not hear him leave. “What do you want, Peter?” I ask, still not looking at him.

            “Your execution has been moved up to tomorrow,” is all he says before I finally hear him walk out.

            I still haven’t moved from my position in the corner as I let his words sink in. _Tomorrow_. I squeeze my eyes shut, trying to keep the tears that are forming behind my eyes inside. I know they have cameras in here; I’m not going to give them the satisfaction of seeing me cry.

            I keep my head down for as long as it takes me to get my emotions under control before I make my way over to my bed.

            That night, I don’t have my typical nightmares that I have had every night I have been at Erudite. The few hours I manage to sleep I dream of Tobias.

 

~.~.~

 

 

            After I wake the next morning I take my spot in the corner and wait. Ever since Peter told me my execution had been moved up I haven’t been able to think properly. I knew this was coming eventually. I knew my death was imminent, but I had not fully accepted that fact. I thought I had time. I thought it would take Jeanine time to create a divergent-proof serum. And I realize now that, subconsciously, I thought Tobias and the loyal Dauntless had time to figure out how to save me. I was wrong.

            The door opens and Peter walks in with a couple of other traitor Dauntless. They’ve upped my security apparently.

            “Come on, Stiff,” Peter says. I get to my feet and walk over to the door. Once I am there Peter grabs my arm. I look around at the others who walk with me. I notice someone walking a few steps behind us and stop when I realize who it is.

            “What are _you_ doing here?” I shout, my anger suddenly taking over.

            “I wanted to see you,” Caleb says, his eyes show no remorse for what is about to happen. No remorse for doing this to me. He takes a few steps closer to me, reaching for my hand. I pull away before he can make any contact with me.

            “You wanted to see me one last time before I die? If you were so concerned about my safety you shouldn’t have taken me to Jeanine!” I shout and make a lunge for Caleb. I don’t ever touch him though; there are too many guards around me.

            “I’m not sorry for that. It had to be done, Beatrice. The Divergent need to be controlled –“

            “No! What does it matter if I don’t fit into one faction? I did nothing to start a war. She did. All the shit that has happened in however long I’ve been here is because of her, not me and not the Divergent,” I stare at the boy who used to be my brother. I no longer feel like the term is an accurate description of Caleb. His eyes widen at my accusation, but I can tell he still believes what he did was the right thing. Peter shoves me and we continue walking.

They do not lead me to my usual room. I’m led through hallways I’ve never been in before. As I look around I see Zeke standing at the end of a hallway as we pass. He is staring directly at us already, as if he knew we were coming this way. I pause for a few seconds, staring at the last connection I have to my former life.

Zeke walks over to us quickly before Peter and usher me forward. He puts a hand on my shoulder and squeezes.

“If . . . If you see him again will you tell him that I love him? And that I’m sorry; I’m sorry I left him alone.” I can’t stop the tears this time. I don’t want to die. I don’t want Tobias left alone. The past year we became a unit. Us against everything. We knew each others secrets; we became each others family. Now I’m leaving him all alone.

Zeke nods his head. This is the most solemn I have ever seen him. He was always happy at Dauntless, always the one to make anyone laugh. Not now, though.

“Be brave, Tris,” Zeke says, but I can tell he has more he wants to say. More he would say if we were alone and didn’t have cameras all around us.

Peter pushes me forward, but I do not notice where anymore. My mind goes over every memory I have with Tobias. _I don’t want to leave him all alone_.

 

**FLASHBACK**

 

_Tobias leads us back to the Dauntless compound after our dinner at the pier. He packed us up some food and we took it to the Ferris wheel and ate in one of the compartments near the bottom._

_I enjoyed eating dinner and spending time with our friends, but it was nice to have time just Tobias and I. It is nice to have moments just the two of us where we don’t have to worry about anyone overhearing our conversations._

_We walk up to Tobias’ apartment, and he hesitates before opening the door. When he does, I see a couple of balloons floating at the ceiling, and a whole chocolate cake sitting on a small table in the corner._

_“Happy birthday,” Tobias whispers in my ear, his arms wrap around my waist from behind me._

_I have never acknowledged my birthday; the Abnegation do not celebrate them. I knew the date, knew that on that day my age changed, but that was it. I didn’t even really realize that it was today._

_“How did you know?”_

_“I may have hacked some Abnegation records,” Tobias tells me, a mischievous half smile covering his face._

_“When is your birthday?” I ask him as we enter the room. Tobias locks the door behind him as I move to sit in the middle of the bed, my legs crossed underneath me._

_“April 13 th,” Tobias says as he brings the cake over to where I am sitting, along with two forks. _

_“No plates?” I ask as I stare at the giant cake now sitting between us._

_“Nope,” he tells me before he sticks his fork into the center of the cake and takes a bite. I laugh before doing the same. I take a bite of the cake, as I chew Tobias stares at me, questions floating around in his eyes._

_“I think I love you,” the words flow out of his mouth, but they surprisingly do not sound nervous or unsure._

_“You think?”_

_“I know. I know I love you,” a smile tugs at the corner of his mouth._

_“Good. I know I love you, too.”_

_~.~.~_

_Tobias slams the door behind us before he gently pushes my back against it. One of his arms wraps around my waist while the other threads its fingers through my hair, holding my face and lips to his. The kiss is frenzied and rough and passionate. One of my arms is clutching his back, the other pulling the hair at the base of his neck._

_Both of his hands slide down my body, leaving goose bumps in their trail. His hands reach the back of my thighs and he lifts me into his arms, my legs wrapping themselves around his waist. My arms encircle his neck, holding on so I do not fall._

_Tobias walks us over to the bed, gently placing me in the center. His body immediately covers mine and my hands reach down to pull his shirt over his head. Once his shirt is out of the way Tobias starts to trail kisses along my collarbone to my neck. His hips automatically buck into mine; I can feel how hard he is underneath his jeans._

_“Tris. We should stop,” he moans into my neck but does not stop kissing me. We’ve never actually had sex before. We’ve touched each other, brought each other to our climaxes, but we’ve never had sex. Maybe it is the Abnegation in us. In Abnegation it is unheard of to have sex before marriage; in Dauntless it is practically unheard of to wait for marriage before sex. I think we’ve reached a nice middle ground, though. We’ve been together for months; we know that there is never going to be anyone else for either of us. Why wait for a piece of paper to tell us what we already know?_

_“I don’t want to,” my voice is more breathy than I realized. I pull his face to mine again, our lips meeting in a frenzy of teeth and tongues._

_I do my best to ignore the knot of fear that begins to form in my stomach. Tobias and I have done other activities that have helped me move past this particular fear. But this fear that I feel now is not the same as it used to be. It is a nervous excitement._

_Tobias pulls away from me again and I can’t stop the groan that escapes me at the loss of his lips on mine. “Are you sure?” I can tell by the desperation in his voice, the desire in his eyes, that he wants this just as much as I do. I barely nod my head before his hands are gripping the bottom of my tank top, pulling it over my head. The next few moments are a fury of limbs as we work to remove each other’s clothing as fast as possible._

_Once we are both completely bare Tobias reaches a hand down to my center, taking a moment to spread the moisture around before he inserts two fingers inside of me. His lips wrap around one of my nipples as his fingers start sharp thrusts. My back arches as my climax approaches, just as I start to tighten around Tobias’ fingers he releases my nipple and watches my body tense and then relax into the bed._

_I know why he made me come first. I know not to expect too much pleasure from my first time having sex. Christina and I got quite a lecture from a nurse a few months ago when we went down to the hospital to get birth control pills._

_Tobias aligns himself with my center before leaning over me, putting his weight on his forearms. Both of his hands grasp mine, our fingers interconnected. I hear him softly whisper, “I love you,” before he starts to push into me._

_It is not pleasant; I never thought it would be. I have never seen any other boy naked but I know that Tobias is rather . . . large. He continues to slowly enter me, breaking my barrier before he is completely inside._

_Tobias stills, waiting for me to tell him to continue. After a few minutes the pain is just a dull throb so I nod my head and Tobias starts to thrust. It does not take long for Tobias to reach his climax, grunting into my neck as he comes inside of me._

_For a first time, I think we did pretty good. I knew it wasn’t going to be all that pleasurable, but we have time to perfect it._

_~.~.~_

_Christina and I were in my apartment folding the last of my clothes and putting them into a box. I only had a couple boxes of things I had accumulated over the past few months, so it didn’t take us too long to pack up everything._

_Tobias and Will would be here in a few minutes to help us carry everything up to Tobias’ apartment. We decided it was pointless to take up two apartments when every night we had to decide which one we would stay at. This just made the most sense._

_Just as I put my last article of clothing in the box the door opened, Tobias and Will walking in. Tobias walked straight over to me, his lips immediately crashing against mine. Ever since we were finally intimate with each other Tobias has been much more open with public displays of affection. I don’t mind._

_“This it?” he asks, already picking up one of the boxes as Will picks up another._

_“Yup,” I say as Christina and I pick up the few bags I have. We all quickly make our way up to Tobias’ apartment._

_Christina and Will warily look around – no one ever really comes in here. Tobias and I like to keep certain places to ourselves, like his – our – apartment and our spot at the bottom of the Chasm. We haven’t been back there since our first kiss, though. I see both Christina and Will glance suspiciously at the words ‘Fear God Alone’ on the wall._

_Christina and Will leave a few minutes after they drop my stuff off, leaving Tobias and I alone. I finally look around, noticing a few changes Tobias seems to have made. The bed is bigger and now covered with a dark blue quilt. There are two dresser drawers open, both empty. He cleared a space for my clothes._

_I smile at him, realizing how important this moment is. We both know there will never be anyone else either of us would want._

_~.~.~_

_“You’ll be back for dinner?” Tobias asks, his words mumbled against the skin of my neck._

_“Mmm, yes,” I tell him just as the sound of the train approaching reaches our ears._

_“I’ll see you tonight,” Tobias tells me before I jump on the train._

_~.~.~_

_I know, now, that was a promise Tobias could not keep._

**END FLASHBACK**

We make our way into a new room. A simple, sterile looking table is in the middle of it. I walk toward the table, knowing that is where I am meant to be. Jeanine is sitting next to it, a syringe in her hand filled with a purple serum.

            I look at Jeanine, sitting there with my life in her hands. Anger boils inside of me, making my tears from earlier stop.

            “Killing me doesn’t mean you won. It means you failed. You’re a failure,” those words have probably never been spoken to Jeanine. I’m sure she has always succeeded in everything she has ever tried. It brings me a small amount of joy, as much as I can feel given the circumstances, to know that I get to be the one to tell her that.

            There is a commotion near the door as I lie on the table. I look over and see Zeke pushing his way through the Dauntless guards. He eventually manages to get into the room.

            “She was my friend; my best friend’s girl. I’m not going to let her be executed in a room without at least one familiar face,” his words are stern, final, as he stares at Jeanine. Zeke is risking a lot just to comfort me; Erudite could see right through him and realize he is not actually on board with everything they are doing. I am glad I’ll at least have one person in the room I know I could trust, though. One person I know did not betray me.

I manage a small smile at him as he stares at me, his eyes full of despair. They’re the last thing I see before I feel Jeanine stick the needle into my neck.


	14. Chapter 14

**_TOBIAS_ **

 

            Three weeks. That’s how long it has been since Tris jumped on a train to Erudite to tell her brother we were engaged and never came back. A lot has happened in those three weeks.

            Erudite took over the Abnegation sector by force, using the traitor Dauntless to make the Abnegation comply. As far as we know, they’re under strict rules; most of them basically forced into house arrest. A few made it safely to Amity somehow; they told us how some Abnegation tried to fight back at first but it only led to death and more destruction. A good amount of traitor Dauntless patrol the Abnegation sector daily to make sure no one tries anything.

            We’ve talked to Amity; the other leaders and I went there just a few days after the Erudite takeover. They agreed to be a safe haven for anyone who wants it, but set strict rules for their compound. No weapons and no fighting. We didn’t stay very long.

            The Candor have done nothing. They’ve locked themselves up in their compound. I have no doubt they’ll just side with whoever is ahead at the moment, which would be Erudite right now. A team was sent to visit them a while ago. They were put under Truth Serum because the Candor do not trust anybody. The team then retaliated by stealing a good portion of their Truth Serum before they came back.

            A few Erudite came to us for refuge right after the takeover. One of them was Will’s sister. They’ve been working on making weapons, but they do not have a lot of the materials they need here. I haven’t been paying much attention to them, though.

            I spend most of my days in the Control Room. I’ve tried everything I could think of to get any information from Erudite’s computers. I got a few files before they locked everything down. The most important one saying that Beatrice Prior’s execution was scheduled for one month after the takeover. Seven days from now.

            I’ve tried to work with Tori and Harrison on a plan to invade Erudite. They agree that it is going to be necessary, but that we need to be more prepared. We have people making as many weapons as possible; guns, knives, anything. Tori and Harrison don’t have the same urgency I do to invade within the next seven days.

 

**FLASHBACK**

 

            _I lean back in my chair, arms crossed over my chest. Tori, Harrison and I have been in the only meeting room in the Dauntless compound for hours._

_It has been two days since the Erudite takeover and we still do not know what to do. A month ago none of us could have even imagined we would be strategizing for war._

_“We need to hit the Erudite compound hard and fast before they get too organized,” I say for what feels like the hundredth time. They know why this is what I think we should do, but they also know it is a logical opinion._

_“We know Tris is there, Tobias. But saving one during a time of war is not a priority. We need to know why Erudite is doing this and what their security is like. We need a well thought out plan before we run in there blind,” Harrison tells me, his voice exasperated. I don’t blame him._

_“We also need to think about the fact that Tris conveniently left to ‘visit’ her brother at Erudite the same day all of this happened. We need to think about the possibility that she could be a traitor,” Tori tells us. My fists clench. Out of everyone, Tori should be on Tris’ side. She knows Tris is Divergent. She knows Tris would never do that._

_“You know that’s not true. She’s no more of a traitor than any of us,” I say as calmly as possible._

_If I am going to work out a plan that involves Tris getting back to Dauntless alive I am going to have to think of something that will appease Tori and Harrison as well._

_A few hours later I am sitting at a table in the dining hall with some of our friends. Christina keeps staring at me nervously. Uriah is still upset. He hasn’t talked to anyone much since Zeke left._

_Christina suddenly slides something over to me. I look down at the table and see a simple, black ring in front of me._

_“What is this?” I ask her, picking up the simple object in my hands._

_“The day you two went to Abnegation . . . late that night she came by our apartment. She had been down in the pit and picked it out. She asked me to keep it until you two needed it. It’s your wedding band,” Christina says the words slowly, as if she is scared they will set me off. She’s right. I grip the ring tightly in my hand before walking out of the dining hall as quickly as possible._

**END FLASHBACK**

 

            I sit in the Control Room looking over all of the new camera feeds we installed at every entrance of the compound. We put cameras and motion sensors at every entrance that can only be turned off with a code very few people know. We also change it twice a week. We have a group stationed at both entrances to the compound, one near the roof entrance and the other at the glass building above the pit. The groups rotate people every few hours. Alarms will sound throughout the compound if the motion sensors are set off.

            The screen suddenly goes black. My eyebrows furrow but before I can try to fix whatever happened there is suddenly a video feed on the screen.

            “Go get Tori and Harrison,” I bark at the man sitting next to me. He is easily ten years older than me and has been doing this much longer than I have but he quickly gets up and does what I say.

            I look at the screen. It shows a bright, white, room. But I do not focus on any of that. I see her, sitting in the corner with her legs pulled up to her chest. _She’s so small._

            My first instinct were Tris is involved has never been to protect her; she can easily protect herself. But I know there is nothing she can do in this situation. I know I was supposed to save her, protect her. I let her down.

Something catches her eye, “Come on, Stiff,” I hear someone say. The camera follows her as she walks to the door toward Peter. _Peter_. The boy I pulled off of her a year ago as he was trying to throw her over the Chasm; the boy who stabbed an initiate in the eye with a butter knife.

As Tris leaves her cell Tori and Harrison walk in. I motion for them to sit next to me, never taking my eyes off of the screen as Tris shouts at who I am assuming is her brother, Caleb. I’ve never seen him before. _He turned her in to Jeanine_.

Once Caleb leaves the cameras follow Tris as she is led through the compound with numerous guards around her. I wonder if she has tried to escape on her own before.

            Zeke suddenly shows up on the screen, “If . . . if you see him again will you tell him that I love him? And that I’m sorry; I’m sorry I left him alone.”

            Tris’ words cut through me _. No, don’t give up_. My hands clench so tight that they start to shake. Then I realize what this is, where these guards are leading her. This is her execution.

            Zeke says something else to her, but I do not hear it. My ears start to ring; my heart starts to race. Whatever Tris thinks about as she walks away from Zeke causes tears to start to stream down her face.

            One of my hands unclenches from my lap. I rub it over my face, hoping that I will wake up and be in my fear landscape. I don’t.

            Tris enters a room with a table obviously meant for her in the center. Jeanine is sitting next to it with a syringe in her hands.

            “Killing me doesn’t mean you won. It means you failed. You’re a failure,” if I could I would smile at her harsh words toward Jeanine. Even though that woman is about to kill her, Tris won’t let her win.

            Zeke is suddenly on the screen, “She was my friend; my best friend’s girl. I’m not going to let her be executed in a room without at least one familiar face.”

            After I hear his words I vow to be more conscious of Uriah. I’ve checked on him and Tris’ other friends a few times, but not often enough. Zeke is risking a lot by being there for Tris. I won’t let anything happen to Uriah.

            “No,” I whisper as I see Jeanine start to move her hand with the syringe in it closer to Tris. It is as if she is moving in slow motion in my mind.

            “No!” I shout as I see her push the purple liquid into Tris’ blood stream and her body slump, lifeless, against the table.

            My hands slam against the desk I am in front of. I don’t care what is underneath them, keyboards, papers, none of it matters. _She’s dead_.

            I stand and leave the room, ignoring Tori and Harrison’s calls for me. I pass a few people on my way to our – _my_ – apartment but none of them stop me. No one would stop me when I am this visibly upset.

            I slam the door behind me as I enter. I look around and see Tris lying in the bed in the mornings as I shower. I see her in the corner by the closet deciding what she should wear. I see her naked body beneath mine as we give ourselves to each other in the most intimate way possible. My back slumps against the door as my legs give out from underneath me and I cry for the first time since I left Abnegation.

 

~.~.~

 

**_TRIS_ **

 

            My entire body feels like jelly but at the same time it feels like my arms weigh a hundred pounds and are impossible to lift. My heart races in my chest and I can feel the blood pulsing through my body. My eyes snap open, remembering what just happened. _Am I dead?_

            I look around the room, still not able to move any of my limbs. This must be the morgue. I see tables with tools I do not want to know what are used for and aprons hanging on hooks and a wall of square doors. I should be behind one of those doors but I’m not. I’m alive. My mind wants to go rejoice over the second chance I was just given. Think about how I could get back to Dauntless and my friends and _Tobias_ but I do not have time for that. I have to escape.

            I realize that this is my chance. This will be my last chance to escape Erudite because everyone thinks I am already dead. I try to move my arms. They still feel heavy, but at least I am able to lift them.

            I carefully slide off of the table I was on and look around the room for some kind of weapon. If I am going to get out of here alive I will need something to protect myself. My limbs start to feel a little more normal as I look around. Movement catches my eye and I notice a traitor Dauntless guard standing outside the door through the small window.

            A plan forms in my head as I duck beneath the window; my back to the door so they can’t see me and slowly open it. I hear their boots on the tile floor and as soon as they are in the right spot I push the door as hard as possible, knocking them to the floor. Thankfully the door knocked them out. I don’t think I would have had the strength to fight them.

            I kneel next to them and quickly pull the gun out of the holster attached to their chest. I hear footsteps walking down the hall and immediately regret not closing the door after the guard entered. Just as the person enters the room I aim my gun at the doorway.

            “Tris?”

            “Zeke?”

            He does not answer me. He quickly closes the door behind him before kneeling down next to me.

            “You’re not dead,” he says quietly.

            “No. I’m not. But I’m sure I will be soon if I don’t find a way out of here.”

            Zeke is quiet for a moment before he looks around. “We need to make you as unrecognizable as possible,” he walks around the room, opening drawers and shuffling through them before he finds what he was looking for. Scissors.

            “We cut your hair, put you in this guys jacket and shoes, take back staircases until we get to the lobby and walk out. Sounds simple enough, right?” Zeke tells me. I look down at the clothes I am wearing. Black pants that are two sizes too big and a blue t-shirt. The black jacket will at least make it look like I am a traitor Dauntless, and the short hair will hopefully distract anyone who sees me long enough for us to escape before they recognize me. I hold my hand out for the scissors.

            I gather all of my hair behind my head and cut it so it stops a little bit past my shoulders. It falls to the ground just like it would when my mother cut it in Abnegation, circling around my feet.

            Zeke quickly gets the guards jacket off of him and hands it to me. It is entirely too big on my small frame but it will have to work. I quickly slip on his shoes.

            “You still have his gun?” Zeke asks.

            “Yeah, I wont be able to shoot straight, though,” I hold my right hand out in front of me showing him how shaky and jittery it is. It is not from nerves though; my body is still coming down from the death serum that failed to do its job. I check again to make sure the gun is still stuffed into the back of my pants.

            “Only shoot if you have to, then. Just try and act like you didn’t just die, okay?” Zeke actually manages a smile at his own joke. It is nice to see that even though we are about to do something incredibly dangerous he is still himself.

            We casually leave the room, trying not to look too nervous or out of place. I follow Zeke as he leads the way, almost as if he has had an escape route planned for a long time. We manage to get to the bottom floor without much of any incident. We passed a few other Dauntless in the halls, but Zeke was his usual loud self and brought all of their attention on him.

            “Keep your head down and follow me,” Zeke tells me before opening the door to the lobby. There are people everywhere, but they do not seem to know about me. I wonder if anyone knows I’m not lying dead in the morgue anymore. _Could it really be this easy?_

            Just as I start to hope that I may be able to get out of this place alive a hand clamps down on my upper arm.

            “You’re dead,” I vaguely recognize the man. He escorted me to and from simulations with Peter a few times I think.

            Zeke pulls his arm off of mine before landing a punch to the mans jaw, “Run!”

            We both start running toward the door. Shots ring out around us, and alarms start to blare. Luckily we were not too far away from the door, but traitor Dauntless follow us out and continue to shoot in our direction. I feel a sudden sting in my shoulder that causes me to lose my footing for a second. Zeke grabs my arm to steady me.

            Zeke weaves between buildings so we lose the traitor Dauntless that are following us. Eventually the shooting stops and Zeke kicks open the door to an abandoned building, “We’ll stay here until it’s dark. Then we’ll get on a train to Dauntless.”

            I automatically walk to the corner of the completely bare room just like I would have done if I were in my cell back at Erudite. I carefully take off my stolen jacket to look at my shoulder. Thankfully it just looks like a graze through my t-shirt. I lean my head back against the wall and close my eyes.

            “You should sleep, it will be a while before the sun sets.”

            “No. I don’t sleep very well, anymore.”

            “I’ll get you back to him, I promise.”

            “You were never a traitor, were you?” I ask Zeke, my eyes opening to meet his. I already know the answer, though.

            “No. Eric approached me a while ago with his plan he had been working on with Jeanine. I knew if I said no that I knew too much and would eventually wind up dead somewhere, plus I thought I could find out some information and eventually escape. He said they were waiting for something to happen before they left Dauntless. I didn’t know you were what they were waiting for.”

            I nod my head before laying it on my knees. My body is too tired to do anything else, and my mind is too jumbled to think clearly about anything _. I just want to go home._

            “How long?” I ask. Zeke doesn’t need any more clarification on what I am asking.

            “Three weeks.”

            It is hours later before the sun finally sets and Zeke and I can make our way to the train tracks. Thankfully there are no traitor Dauntless waiting for us there. We easily jump on to the train and I feel a true smile form for the first time in what feels like years. It is nice to do something normal, something I am used to.

            “We should go in through the net, they probably have the other entrances locked up,” I nod my head at Zeke’s words, not looking forward to jumping into the net with my injured shoulder.

            “Damn. I’ve never been so excited to jump off of a train,” Zeke tells me with a giant smile on his face as we see the Dauntless compound come into view. But the second our feet hit the roof alarms sound below us and four Dauntless emerge from the darkness with guns pointed at us.

            “That’s new,” I whisper under my breath


	15. Chapter 15

_“That’s new,” I whisper under my breath._

            “Hands up!” one of the Dauntless guards shout at us. I raise my hands slowly, looking at the four people surrounding us. I do not recognize any of them.

            “Do you know a man named Four?” I ask.

            “Four? He’s a Dauntless Leader,” one of them says, confusion crossing their face as to why I would question them about a leader. _Tobias is a leader now?_ He never wanted to be a leader. He turned down Max’s offer more times than I can imagine. Why would he want to be a leader now?

            “Jay,” one of them hisses,  “Don’t answer their questions! We should take them to the dining hall, everyone is there after what happened today.”

            “What happened today?” Zeke asks.

            “Erudite –“ the one we now know is Jay starts but is quickly silenced by one of the others. What happened at Erudite? Do they know that I was executed? If they know I’m supposed to be dead, Tobias thinks I’m dead.

            Two of the guards flank each of us and walk us to the edge of the building where we need to jump. The two guards jump, then I am instructed to jump. I close my eyes for the few seconds I am falling through the air, relaxed for the first time in weeks. The impact of my body hitting the net and jostling my shoulder pulls me out of my thoughts as pain jolts through my body.

            I am pulled to the edge of the net and jump to my feet. One of the guards stands next to me, my upper arm gripped tightly in his hand. Being led around like this is starting to get very old for me.

            A few minutes later Zeke and I are led through the compound. My heart is racing. I need to find Tobias.

            We enter the dining hall, which is bustling with life as people fill the tables, everyone talking at once. It is almost instantaneous, the silence that happens when we walk into the room. The guards start to lead us to a table where I can see Tori and another man are sitting. I wonder if they are also leaders, along with Tobias. _Where is he?_

            “Tris? Tris!” Christina. I quickly look around and see her run over to me, quickly followed by Uriah and all of my other friends.

            “You’re _alive_?” Christina asks as she tries to hug my right side. She feels me tense and then looks at my shoulder. I see Uriah and Zeke exchange a brotherly hug.

            “You knew I was dead?” I ask, wondering when Erudite informed Dauntless I was dead. I didn’t think I had been out of it too long before I escaped.

            “We saw it. They hacked our screens or something… They sent us their security footage of you and it automatically started playing on every screen in the place. You _died_ , Tris.”

            She’s right. I did die. But I’m not dead anymore. My eyes dart around the room. If Tobias saw what everyone else saw he thinks I’m dead. He’s not here to see that I’m alive.

            “You’ve had quite a day apparently, Tris,” Tori says as she and the man she was with earlier approach us. Everyone around us is still completely silent, and I understand why now. Not often you see a dead girl walking around. All of our friends make their way back to their spots.

            “Where’s Four?”

            “He’s not thinking clearly now. You and Zeke are going to be taken to a holding cell so we can decide what to do with you. You look an awful lot like a traitor, Tris.”

            “You two can’t make that decision – there’s a reason there’s supposed to be an odd number of leaders. He’s not thinking clearly because he thinks I’m dead!”

            “You’re _supposed_ to be dead, yet here you are,” I always thought Tori had my back. She protected my aptitude test results, or at least tried to. I always considered her a friend. I guess I was wrong. Or maybe war just changes people. The guards start to lead us back out of the dining hall. My eyes shift around the room, looking for some kind of escape. I don’t care that trying to escape will make me look more like a traitor. I have to find Tobias. Before we leave Christina runs up and hugs me again.

            “He’s in your apartment,” she whispers in my ear before chaos breaks out around me. I know that her telling me where Tobias means she has a plan so I immediately pull my elbow forward quickly before thrusting in back into the stomach of the guard leading me away. Christina takes care of him after that, and Lynn suddenly appears next to me, distracting the second guard surrounding me.

            I don’t stop to look around me. My feet immediately carry me out of the dining hall and across the pit to the apartments. I try not to think about the exhaustion that is threatening to take over my body, or how my body has become even more jittery since the death serum.

            Once I make it to the familiar door to our apartment I immediately start pounding my fists into the door.

            “Tobias, please open the door!” I shout, hoping there is no one around me to hear his real name. He thinks I’m dead. I am the only one who would call him by that name though, hopefully that will pique his interest enough to get him to open the door.

            The door is opened so suddenly I fall into Tobias as he stands there. I push him back a little and lock the door behind me. I know I have a few minutes at most to explain to him what is happening before guards show up here. I am selfish enough to take a few seconds to look at his face, though. His hair is longer, and his eyes are bloodshot and red like he has been crying. I’ve never seen him cry. His eyes stare at me in wonder.

            “You’re dead.”

            “I’m Divergent,” I reply. There is no use in hiding that fact anymore. Tobias already knew, of course, but it doesn’t matter that we’re not in our spot at the bottom of the Chasm anymore. He’ll know what that means. I am Divergent and I cannot be controlled. Not even by death serum.

            “Tori thinks I’m a traitor. I’m not, I promise. Caleb… I’m not a traitor. I just had to find you,” it is as if all of the stress all of the pressure from the last three weeks hits me at once and I cannot stop the sobs that come out of me. My arms wrap around Tobias’ neck so I do not crumble to the ground. It is then, I think, that he realizes that I am actually there. His arms wrap around me, crushing me to him.

            “You’re alive,” Tobias says so quietly I barely make out the words. The sudden pounding of fists on the door seems to bring him out of his haze.

            “Do as they say. I’ll take care of it, I promise,” Tobias pulls back from our embrace and cradles my face in his hands. He crushes his lips against mine before the door is suddenly thrown open, crashing against the wall violently.

            The thought of going into another cell, being there for an unknown amount of time causes my body to tremble even more that is already is due to whatever effect the death serum left in me.

            A guard grabs my arm and my stomach turns as we are led out of the apartment and into the hall. Tori and the other man I am assuming is a new leader are waiting for us in the hall. I dry heave for a few seconds, causing my feet to stop moving as I hunch over. I hear Tobias shouting my name, worried. Finally my body expels everything lingering in my system. There is no food – I haven’t really eaten in days – all I can see is purple. Death serum.

            I wipe my mouth on my sleeve and immediately regret moving my right arm at the sharp sting that blasts through my shoulder.

            “Do you believe me now?” I ask, looking Tori directly in her eyes. She doesn’t answer as the guards lead me away.

            It does not take long for us to reach the holding cell. Zeke is already sitting on the floor, but he has a giant smile on his face. I walk immediately to the left corner and sit down, pulling my knees to my chest.

            “You always go to the corner. Why?”

            I shrug my shoulders, not really knowing the answer. “I guess it’s just familiar, now. Why are you so happy?”

            “We’re back. And we’re probably the two most badass Dauntless there ever was now,” Zeke says with a laugh. It is as if he flipped a switch. He was actually serious and solemn at Erudite and while we were escaping. Now he’s back to his normal, fun-loving self. It’s nice.

            The door opens again and a girl walks in. It is Will’s sister.

            “They told me your shoulder was hurt?” she asks me. I nod my head, pulling the sleeve of my t-shirt down enough for her to see the bullet graze. I try not of flinch at the pain.

            She pulls out a medicine dropper and places a few drops of the clear liquid into my injury. “A few drops a day for about a week and you should be fine.”

            “Thank you.”

            “I’m sorry. For what my faction did to you,” is all she says before she leaves the room again.

            As I sit on the floor, once again, in the corner of another cell I start to realize how tired I am of everything. I’m tired of being held against my will. I’m tired of people telling me what to do. I’m tired of being led around like a prisoner. I’m just tired. And now I’m angry.

            We wait for what seems like days, but probably isn’t more than a couple hours at most. When Tobias walks in he immediately walks over to me, kneeling in front of me. He pulls me into an embrace before whispering into my ear.

            “They’re going to put you under truth serum, I’m sure it won’t work on you. I hope you and Zeke have a story straightened out,” Tobias tells me before placing a soft kiss on my cheek.

            “Just the truth,” I whisper back.

            “Good. We shouldn’t have any problems, then,” Tobias manages a small smile as he pulls away from me. One of his hands cradles my face as his eyes roam over me. I can see all of the questions in his dark blue eyes.

            Unsurprisingly, more guards show up at the door. I stand from my corner as Tobias talks to Zeke, telling him that he’ll be injected with the truth serum after me. As we walk past the guards one of them goes to grab my forearm to lead me wherever we’re going.

            “I’m not a prisoner. You don’t have to lead me anywhere,” Tobias places his hand lightly on the small of my back and pushes me forward, ahead of the guards.

            As we walk through the halls of Dauntless I see our group of friends hovering in a corner of the pit. It’s late; most people are probably in bed by now. But they stayed. Not just for me, but for Zeke. It’s nice to know that no matter what, those people will always wait for me. They all look at us curiously. I try and offer a small smile but it turns out more like a grimace.

We make our way up to a room near the Fear Landscape area that I have never been before. It is dark with a large wooden table in the middle. There are three chairs on one side of the table and one on the other. I see the box that will undoubtedly hold a syringe sitting in the middle. Just the thought of being injected with something unknown sends a tremor through my body.

            I take my seat at the table. Tobias, Tori, and the unknown man from before sit across from me. A guard opens the box and pulls of a syringe full of a blue liquid. Truth Serum. I remember Christina telling me about it during our initiation. It causes you to reveal all of your secrets. I feel like all of my secrets are out in the open already.

            The Dauntless man moves toward me with the syringe, ready to inject me, but I suddenly flinch away. I know it is not another simulation. I know I shouldn’t be afraid of it. This is my faction; they wouldn’t do anything like that.

            “Is there a problem?” Tori asks me.

            “I’ve been injected with a lot of strange things, lately. I’m just not looking forward to another.”

            Tobias suddenly stands and takes the syringe from the Dauntless guard. One of his hands lightly grips my shoulder, giving me a light squeeze before he injects me with the serum. I don’t flinch this time.

            The effects are immediate, my body suddenly feeling very heavy and lethargic. Almost like how I felt when I woke up from the death serum. My shoulders slump and I let my hands fall into my lap. All I really want to do is close my eyes, but then Tori asks me a question.

            “What is your name?”

            “You know my name,” I say, confused.

            “Just answer our questions.”

            “Tris.”

            “Your full name, Tris.”

            “Beatrice Prior,” I tell them, exasperated already. I can feel the need to placate them, to tell the truth in the back of my head. It’s there, but easily overruled by my desire to only tell them the things I want.

            “Why did you go to Erudite three weeks ago?”

            “I went to visit my brother. Tell him that I was engaged.”

            “How did that turn into you being held there?”

            I take a deep breath before I tell my story. “I told him I was engaged. I was happy. He told me he was glad that I was happy and asked if I wanted to be shown around Erudite. I went with him and he took me to Jeanine Matthews’ office.”

            “Why did Jeanine want you?”

            “Because I am Divergent. She is trying to create a simulation that will work on the Divergent. I was her tester.”

            “We all saw you executed. She injected you with Death Serum. According to the few Erudite we have here, not even the Divergent are immune to that. So, how are you still alive?”

            “Jeannine said I was the strongest Divergent she had ever seen, that’s why she wanted to test her simulations on me. I don’t know why the serum didn’t work on me. My only explanation is that I am Divergent.” I’m tired of talking about this. Tired of my life revolving around Jeanine Matthews and Erudite and what those people did to me. I just want it to be over.

            “One last question. How did you escape?”

            I tell them everything, not leaving out a single detail. I have nothing to hide, I did nothing wrong while I was there. I tell them about waking up in the morgue and finding Zeke. I tell them about being shot in my shoulder and hiding out in the abandoned building before we got on a train to Dauntless.

            Tobias suddenly stands and walks around to me. No other guards follow us as he leads me out of the room. Tobias is silent as we walk back to the cell. We see our group of friends, still waiting. They start to walk over to us, thinking that everything is over with, but Tobias holds up a hand.

            “Not yet.”

            Tobias is silent the rest of our walk, his arm wrapped protectively around my waist with his fingers digging into my side so tightly it feels like he never wants to let go. Eventually we make it back to my holding cell. I enter with a sigh. Once Tobias lets go of me with one last squeeze of reassurance I make my way back to my corner.

            Zeke hops to his feet. He claps his hands before rubbing them together. “Well, lets get this over with,” he says with a smile before dropping an arm around Tobias’ shoulders. I almost laugh even though I know Tobias will not appreciate the contact. Neither of us really let anyone else touch us but each other.

            I’m left alone in a cell once again. It’s oddly comforting. Being alone in a small room with my back to the corner is all I’ve known for so long.

            It doesn’t take too long before Tobias returns with Zeke. He walks over to me, kneeling in front of me again. He lifts my head to make sure I’m looking at him before he speaks.

            “It won’t be too long, now. Try and get some sleep, I’ll be back for you soon,” Tobias tells me before placing a soft kiss on my forehead and leaving the room.

            “You were… incredibly strong at Erudite. I would hear some people talking about what was happening to you. I wouldn’t have been able to even think straight after having to live through that,” Zeke suddenly says after a few minutes of comfortable silence.

            I don’t say anything back to him. I’m too tired. So I just sit in my corner and wait.

            The exhaustion starts to take over my body. I want so badly to just lie down and sleep, but I force myself to stay awake. The next time I go to sleep I want it to be in my own bed with Tobias next to me.

            The door opens and Tobias walks through, a tired smile on his face. His smile means that the hell that I have lived through the past three weeks is finally over. For the time being, I’m safe. All of the tension leaves my body as my head falls back against the wall.

            Tobias does not say anything as he walks over and carefully lifts me into his arms. He carries me as if I weigh nothing at all. I probably don’t weigh that much though, after not eating much during my time at Erudite. With one arm behind the backs of my knees and the other cradling my back Tobias carries me out of the room. I see Uriah waiting outside the cell for Zeke. He smiles and nods his head in my direction before going to find his brother.

            I wrap my arms around Tobias’ neck, holding on to him as tight as I can. “I’m so tired,” I whisper into his neck.

            “I know,” he tells me, his voice soft and soothing. It makes me want to fall asleep even more.

            We finally make it to our apartment. Instead of going right to the bed like I expected him to Tobias takes me into the bathroom. He gently sets me down on my feet before going over to turn on the faucet in the shower and start to fill the bathtub. Tobias turns back to me, his hands framing my face as he looks at me.

            After a few seconds he starts to remove my clothing. I look down at myself and notice, for the first time, how much weight I have lost. My weight loss is so severe my rib bones are visible, sticking out at unhealthy angels. My arms immediately move to cover up as much of my exposed body as I can.

            “Don’t. It’s not you; it’s not your fault. We’ll take care of it later,” Tobias tells me after he has all of my clothing removed. He leans down and places a kiss on his raven over my heart.

            Tobias lifts me in his arms again and places me into the tub full of hot water. Tobias rolls up the sleeves of his black thermal shirt before he kneels beside the bathtub. My body is too exhausted to do anything but be supported by one of his arms behind my back as he holds me up so he can wash my entire body. His hands clean every square inch of skin. They scrub my scalp and rinse off every reminder I have of being at Erudite.

            Once I am clean Tobias starts to drain the water, now mostly black and full of dirt, and lifts me out of the tub. He grabs a towel and starts to dry off my entire body. He runs the towel up boy of my legs, along my stomach and across my chest. He squeezes as much of the water as he can out of my short hair and then leaves the room. I stand there for a few seconds, confused about what I should do now, until he comes back with an oversized black long-sleeved shirt. It is so big it almost reaches my knees.

            Tobias lifts me up once again and carries me over to our bed. The sheets surround me, warm and inviting. Tobias’ scent is everywhere; coming not only from him lying next to me but from his time sleeping in this bed without me while I was gone.

            Tobias lies on his side and pulls me into his chest. My hands clutch him wherever they can reach. I gasp when I feel his bare skin; he must have taken his shirt off before he got into bed.

            “Tobias,” I whisper to him. He hums in response.

            “I missed you,” I say as my eyes look up at his face. I manage my first genuine smile in weeks when I see his slightly crooked nose, and his ears that stick out just a little too much.

            His arms tighten around me, if that’s even possible, and he whispers, “I missed you, too.”

            It is the last thing I hear before I finally drift off to my first restful sleep in weeks.


	16. Chapter 16

_I stand in front of the main building of Erudite. I don’t know why, but something compels me to enter. I’m not a prisoner anymore, though. I willingly walk through the front doors and look around. The entire lobby is empty so I walk straight to the elevator. I don’t know how I know which level to go to, but I automatically press the button for level 23._

_The doors open to reveal the floor I was once held captive on. The halls are as bright as I remember as I slowly walk through them. I wonder where everyone is. I’ve never seen these halls so empty. Even at night I would be able to hear the bustle of feet wandering through the halls._

_Suddenly screams sound through the halls and my feet immediately carry me toward the sound. They lead me to a familiar room. It is the first place Jeanine took me when I was a prisoner here. Where she tested me with Fear Serum._

_The door is closed but there is a large window in the middle of it. I see Tobias strapped down to the same table I was. His entire body is strained due to the Fear Serum now coursing its way through his body. Jeanine is standing over him with a syringe dripping with gray liquid._

_I pound on the door. I try my hardest to get in but all I can do is stand there and watch as Tobias goes through the same torture I went through._

_Then I hear Jeanine’s voice. I remember what she said to me the day she took me to get that MRI scan._

_“You have two choices, Beatrice. Either you cooperate with us, or we bring your boyfriend here and run the tests on him. Which would you prefer?”_

~.~.~.

 

            I wake up and my heart is racing. It was just a dream. It was just a dream. I reach over to where Tobias was lying when I fell asleep only find the cold sheets. _No_.

            I scramble out of bed. I do not care that I am still only wearing the large shirt Tobias put me in last night; I pull the door open as fast and I can and look down the halls.

            “Four!” I shout, desperate to find him. I get no response and start to make my way through the pit, quickly walking, almost running, through the hallways.

            “Four!” I shout again, my voice cracking before tears start to fall down my cheeks.

            “Tris? What’s wrong?” I see Christina, Will, and Uriah suddenly running toward me. Christina carefully grabs my arms to stop me from walking away from them.

            “They took him. They told me it would happen . . . I shouldn’t have run. They took him and now he’s at that terrible place!” I manage through my heavy breathing. My body starts to shake as I think about Tobias in that place. His brain prodded and tested like mine was. He’s already been through so much with his father; he doesn’t need all of this on top of it.

            “Who Tris? They took who?” Will asks me.

            “Four! Jeanine told me they would –“

            “Four’s in a meeting with the other Leaders, Tris. He’s fine,” Uriah says. “I just saw him about an hour ago.”

            “No! You don’t understand!”

            I see Christina look over at Will and whisper something to him before he runs off. I don’t have time for this. I have to figure out a way to get Tobias out of there.

            “Tris, just sit down and try to relax,” Christina says gently, her eyes soft and concerned. She places me against the wall and I slide down. I pull my knees up to my chest and wrap my arms around them.

            “They took him,” I whisper, mostly to myself.

            “He’ll be fine,” Christina tells me as she sits next to me, her arm wrapping around my shoulder.

            A few minutes later feet can be heard running down the stone hallways. My head snaps up as I see Tobias making his way toward me. _He’s okay_.

            My entire body relaxes as he pulls me into his arms. He picks me up and my legs wrap around his waist as my arms tighten around his neck. He slides his hands around my thighs to hold me up and starts to walk.

            “I’m sorry – “ I start to say but Tobias cuts me off.

            “You have nothing to be sorry for. I’m sorry I wasn’t there when you woke up.”

            A minute later we are back in our apartment. Tobias sits on the bed, his back against the wall behind it. My legs straddle his but there is nothing sexual about the moment. His arms wrap around my back and pull me as close as possible to him and my arms tighten around his neck to do the same. My head nestles itself into his neck, breathing in his comforting scent.

            Once I have calmed down I detangle myself from Tobias and lie down on the bed. He slides down the bed and places his body right next to mine, our faces so close our noses almost touch.

            “Do you want to go back to sleep? I’ll be here when you wake up, I promise,” he runs his fingers through my hair, lightly massaging my scalp. I nod my head, my eyes already closing.

 

~.~.~

 

            I feel kisses all over my face. Light, soft kisses over my eyelids, on my cheeks, on the tip of my nose, everywhere. I sigh before opening my eyes.

            “Hi,” I whisper to Tobias.

            “Hi.”

            I open my mouth to apologize for my meltdown from earlier again, but my stomach speaks before I do.

            “Hungry?” Tobias says with a smile at first, but it quickly turns to a grimace. Probably wondering when the last time I ate was. I don’t really remember. I nod.

            “I can bring you something up – “

            “I think I want to go down, see everyone,” I tell him, thinking about Christina and Uriah watching over me while Will went to find Tobias earlier. “What time is it?”

            “Dinner started just a little while ago, we have time,” Tobias gets out of bed and goes over to our dresser. I throw my legs over the edge of the bed and watch Tobias as he pulls out a pair of my jeans and a tank top. I grimace as he walks over to me, holding the clothes out for me to put on.

            When I do not take the clothes from him he tosses them on the bed next to me and puts both hands on either side of my face so I look up at him.

            “I know you don’t like being taken care of. You don’t _need_ me to take care of you. I don’t know exactly what happened to you while you were gone and I hope you’ll tell me eventually but it obviously hurt you, scarred you. So, _please_ , just this once let me take care of you.”

            Tobias looks down at me and I can see just how much my being gone scarred him, too. His eyes are desperate. Desperate to do anything to help me feel better, desperate to make sure I never leave his side again. I nod my head and grab the clothes he set on the bed before walking into the bathroom.

            I use the restroom, change my clothes, and brush my teeth. After I set my toothbrush back in its spot I notice the birth control pills. I pick up the package and quickly do the math in my head. I pop the correct one in and put them back. It feels nice to start somewhat of a routine again. I splash some water on my face before I walk out.

            Tobias grabs my hand before we walk out. Its strange, the feeling of freedom that comes from simply walking through halls without a strange mans arm guiding me that comes with walking with Tobias.

            The dining hall is full of people when we enter. All of them stop talking when they see us. My brows knit together, curious as to why we are drawing so much attention until everyone starts to clap and cheer. Like they do when new initiates enter after the Choosing Ceremony. Then I realize what is happening. They’re clapping for me.

            My face heats up and I look up at Tobias. He looks down at me, an almost proud smile on his face. He drops my hand and starts to clap with everyone else.

            Eventually the clapping dissolves back into the loud conversation that always accompanies any kind of Dauntless gathering.

            “That was unnecessary,” I say to Tobias.

            “That was your faction showing that they were proud of you and glad you were alive,” Tobias grabs my hand again and he drops me off where all of our friends are before he goes to get us both some food. I sit down next to Christina with Zeke, Uriah, Marlene, Lynn, and Shauna surrounding me.

            “Um . . . hi,” I say, trying to break the ice as all of them just stare at me.

            “We’re glad you’re not dead,” Lynn blurts out. There are a few seconds of silence before everyone, including me, burst out laughing.

            “Me, too,” I say.

“So, what have you been up to?” Lynn asks, still somewhat awkwardly.

“Oh, you know, attempted murder, escaping imprisonment, being accused of being a traitor, melting down in hallways, the usual.”

             Everyone starts to laugh as Tobias sets down our food and sits next to me. Our dinner consists of easy conversation. No one asks me about my time at Erudite, for which I am thankful. I don’t want to discuss all of those things that happened for the first time in a crowded room where anyone could hear. All of our food as been cleared, but all of us are still crowded around our table. The dining hall is mostly empty except for us.

            “Almost forgot about this! Thought you might want these back,” Zeke says as he pulls a chain off from around his neck that was hidden beneath his clothing. He sets it on the table in front of me and I see that it is the black heart necklace Tobias gave me so long ago with my engagement ring hooked to the chain as well.

            “How did you get these?” I ask, staring up at him quizzically as I run my fingers over the jewelry. Erudite members took them from me the first night I was there. It would have taken a lot of effort on Zeke’s part to find and get these back for me.

            “Erudite may be smart, but some are surprisingly easily manipulated. Made ‘friends’ with a few and got them. Figured you would want them back, eventually,” Zeke says with a shrug. It may not seem like a big deal to him or anyone else, but it is to me. He didn’t have to do any of that. He didn’t have to try and get my jewelry back; he would get no personal gain from doing it. He did it for me.

            “Thank you,” the words come out of my mouth filled with emotion. It is not just a thank you for the jewelry. It is a thank you for going to my execution with me so I wouldn’t be alone, a thank you for helping me escape Erudite, a thank you for being my brother when my real one left me to die.

            I take the ring off of the chain. Tobias takes it out of my hand and slips it back on my left ring finger. I smile up at him and hand him the necklace as well. With my ring back in place and the light weight of the heart around my neck I start to feel like things are going back to how they should be. Not necessarily in the city or with our lives, but at least between me and Tobias and all of our friends.

            When Tobias traces his fingers across the chain now around my neck I notice the similar black band around his left ring finger.

            “Where did you get that?” I ask, pointing at his finger.  My forehead creases as I remember leaving our apartment that night after Tobias fell asleep. All I could think about was how he didn’t have any family left. He didn’t consider his father family, I don’t blame him for that, and because of that he was all alone. Except for me.

            I wandered around the pit for a while before I found it. I took the ring to Christina, knowing she could hide it until Tobias and I needed it.

            “He was sad! I thought it would make him feel better!” Christina says, her voice raising a few octaves as she tries to defend herself.

            “Give it back,” I tell him, holding my hand out for the ring. “We’re not married, yet.”

            Tobias carefully removes the ring from his finger and places it gently in my hand. “I expect it back. Soon.”

            I smile at him as I hook the ring on the chain that holds the black heart. A yawn escapes me even though I’ve slept almost an entire day.

            “Do you want to go back to bed?” Tobias asks me, one of his hands moving to rub up and down my back. I wonder if he notices how he can feel almost every vertebra of my spine as he does so.

            Tobias stands and takes my hand before we start to walk away.

            “Wait!”

            Christina walks up to us before she throws her arms around me. I do not flinch as her arm nudges my injured shoulder. I wrap my arms around her, too.

            “I missed you.”

            “I missed you, too,” I say back before we release each other. Christina walks back over to the table and Tobias takes my hand again as we leave the dining hall.

            “Can we talk for a while?” I ask him, knowing that he will understand where we need to go to talk. Tobias nods as he changes course so we make our way to our secret spot at the bottom of the Chasm.

            Once we are there, sitting next to each other, I start asking my questions.

            “What’s happening? Everywhere else, I mean.”

            “Amity is neutral – they’re a safe house for anyone who want it. Candor is just going to side with whoever is winning. Erudite have Abnegation under tight surveillance. They’ll likely make a move, and soon, now that you’re gone. They’ll need another Divergent to test.”

            “I heard a lot of things while I was there. They were usually careful about what was said around me but . . . I still heard some things. I think Abnegation is in danger. They apparently have the highest Divergent population.”

            “So it shouldn’t be too hard for Erudite to find a new test subject, then.” I grimace at his words. I remember my dream from earlier, Tobias being their new test subject. I shake my head and change the subject.

            “My parents . . . are they dead?” I am almost afraid to ask this question. I don’t know if I want to know the answer.

            “No, I don’t think so. They’ve only killed a few who have tried to escape, your parents are smarter than that.” I nod my head at Tobias’ words. They are smarter than that.

            “What if Erudite didn’t have the Abnegation so easily accessible?”

            “What do you mean?” Tobias’ eyes study mine as we stare at each other. This is never how I saw our lives together. Hiding in the bottom of the Chasm discussing war plans. But, I don’t have time to dwell on that now.

            “What if we got the Abnegation out? We could take them to Amity, maybe some of them would even join us, learn to fight. Our numbers would be closer to Erudite and the Traitor Dauntless. I know there are more of them than us.”

            Tobias drops my hand and leans his elbows on his knees, leaning his head in his hands. “The Factionless . . .” he mutters but does not finish his sentence.

            “What about the Factionless?” I ask him, wondering why they brought out such a reaction from him.

            “A couple days after the Erudite takeover, after you were gone, my mother contacted me.”

            His mother. The mother whose funeral I went to as a young child in Abnegation; the mother who I saw in the hallways at Erudite after having a meeting with Jeanine.

            “You can’t trust her.”

            “How do you know?” Tobias’ tone gets defensive. I guess I should have eased in to that.

            “I know she’s alive. I saw her at Erudite. She was meeting with Jeanine. I don’t think you should trust her,” I try to make my voice calm and soothing, try to make it sound like I’m not accusing his mother of anything even though I am.

            “You’re sure it was her? You never even – “

            “I called her name. I asked Jeanine about it, too. She got very defensive after that.”

            “Oh,” Tobias says. I don’t know if I have ever heard him sound so defeated before.

            “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to –“

            “It’s okay. It’s good that we know she’s not being entirely truthful with us.”

            I yawn again, the emotional discussions using up the last of the energy I had.

            “Let’s get you back to bed,” I am glad to see the easy smile across his face as he stands up. I squeeze his hand as we make our way back to our apartment.

            Once we are safely locked away for the night I reach down and grab the hem of the t-shirt Tobias is wearing.

            “What are you doing?” Tobias asks as he smiles down at my attempts to remove his t-shirt without the cooperation of his arms. He leaves them at his sides, making my job extremely difficult.

            “I need a t-shirt to sleep in. This one will smell like you.”

            Instead of helping me remove his t-shirt like I expect him to, Tobias gently touches my cheek, his thumb rubbing soothing circles along my skin before he threads his fingers through my hair. He looks down at me with a small, almost sad, smile on his face. His deep blue eyes stare directly into mine.

            “You’ll tell me, eventually, won’t you?”

            “Tell you what?”

            “What they did to make you so scared.”

            I nod my head, just a little bit. Tonight has been too good to ruin with tales of my time at Erudite. I don’t want to think about that when I am here and safe. He accepts my nod and reaches behind him to pull off his shirt. I gasp when it is completely off. On his chest, over his heart, is a raven with its wings spread. It is a little bigger than the ones I have on my collarbone, but not much. I tentatively reach my hand out, my fingertips just barely touching his warm skin.

            “When . . .”

            “A few days after you were . . . gone.”

            “I’m sorry. I’m sorry I – “ I don’t get to finish my apology because Tobias’ lips capture mine in a slow, sweet kiss. A welcome home kiss.


	17. Chapter 17

My body jerks awake, the visions from my nightmare making my heart race in my chest. My eyes snap open, tears already freely falling. My silent tears quickly turn in to sobs before Tobias wakes up and wraps his arms even tighter around my body, pulling me as close to him as possible.

            “It was just a nightmare. You’re here, you’re safe,” he whispers to me, over and over. I don’t know how safe any of us really are though. We’re in a war; no one is safe.

            I keep my arms wrapped around Tobias, my fingers digging into the skin of his back to keep him close. I hate feeling this weak and needy. I vow to myself that after tonight I’m not going to think about what happened at Erudite. I am going to stop being the weak girl I have been the past two days. There is no time for me to act this way.

            “I had to watch you die,” I tell Tobias, my voice cracking at the last word. If I am going to put all of this behind me I need to tell Tobias so I never have to think about it again. “I had to watch you die over and over again and know that there was nothing I could to do save you.”

            Tobias looks at me and I can see all of the questions he has swirling around in his head about what I am saying. It only takes him a few seconds to realize what I am talking about.

            “Tris . . .”

            “Jeanine thought that the more emotionally attached I was to the simulation the less likely I would be to realize that’s what it was. I always realized, eventually, that it wasn’t actually _you_ that was dead. But, almost every day I had to watch you or my parents die right in front of me.” As the words fall out of my mouth visions of every simulation Jeanine put me through run through my head. I see Tobias lying on the ground as the life leaves his eyes. I see my parents running through the streets as people fight all around us, both of them falling to the ground as bullets rip through their bodies.

            “You can’t let anything happen to you. I know that’s selfish. We’re in the middle of a war and we should be doing whatever we can to help but you _can’t_ let anything happen to you. Okay? I can’t actually live through that.” I tell him, my voice shaking as the words leave my mouth.

            Tobias suddenly removes his arms from around me and gets out of the bed. I panic. Does he hate me for being so selfish? Does he hate me for being so weak? I am lost in my panicked thoughts as Tobias sits back down next to me, sitting up with his back against the pillows. He hands me a couple of papers. I stare at them, unsure what all of this is about.

            “The day you went to Erudite I got these. I had the whole night planned out. I was going to meet you at the train when you got back, take you back here where I would have dinner all set up for you. We’d eat and talk about how it went with Caleb and you wouldn’t know. You wouldn’t know that after dinner I was going to give you these papers that we would sign and then you would be my wife. I had it all planned,” Tobias says his words with such reverence. He has obviously thought about this a lot. Thought about the moment that was stolen from him, thought about what could have been if we were not in the middle of a war.

            “We can sign these right now. Once we do, you’ll be my wife and I’ll be your husband. Once we’re married no one can take us away from each other.”

            I look down at the papers in my hand again. They feel heavier than they did when I didn’t know what they were.

            I look up at Tobias. It’s dark, but I can still see the features of his face. I can see his hooked nose and the way his ears stick out. Christina once told me she thought his ears looked funny, but I like them. I look at his eyes; they look almost black in the dark. As I look at him I realize Tobias is my person. He’s my person who laughs at me when I’m angry. He’s the one who makes me feel better when I’m upset. He puts up with my stubbornness. He takes care of me when I need him to but don’t want him to. He’s my person.

            I nod my head, still staring at the papers in my hand. Life changing papers. Tobias reaches over to the table next to our bed and grabs a pen. He hands it to me as I flip through them to find the place to sign. Once I find the right page I take the pen from his hand.

            “We don’t have to do this now. You can think about it,” Tobias tells me.

            “I don’t have anything to think about.”

            I open the pen and quickly sign my name on the line. It’s shaky and uneven because I used the quilt as a writing surface but I don’t care. I hand the papers to Tobias and watch as he does the same thing, quickly signing his name before he leans back and stares at the papers in his hand.

            I carefully pull the papers out of his hands and set them on the table next to the bed. I drape one of my legs over his lap, straddling his waist. My hands rest on his shoulders, gently rubbing his soft, warm skin. His hands trace up my thigh, slipping under the large t-shirt I am wearing to grasp my hips. I pull my necklace out from beneath my shirt and quickly get Tobias’ ring off of the chain.

            Tobias releases his left hand from my hip and holds it in front of me. I carefully slide the ring into place. Wedding rings are not typically found in Dauntless. People will usually have a big wedding party and get a tattoo or something else to signify the partnership. Wedding rings are found in Abnegation, though. I like that, even though our black rings are more Dauntless than Abnegation, it still connects both of us to our old faction.

 We both stare at Tobias’ ring for a few seconds until he quickly threads his fingers into my hair and pulls my face to his. Our lips meet and for the first time since I got back from Erudite our kiss is rough and passionate.

            I pull my mouth away from Tobias’, hovering just above lips as I mutter, “Tris Eaton.”

            Tobias’ eyes blaze at my words. His lips crash against mine again until neither of us has any breath left. His lips move to my neck and my hips start to steadily grind into his. My hands grasp the hair at the base of his neck.

            “Tris. We don’t have any –“

            “I’ve been taking my pill the past two days. We’re fine.”

            The second the words are out of my mouth Tobias has us flipped over. His body pins mine to the bed as he takes over, his hips rocking into mine. His lips return to mine, our tongues battling for dominance.

            “Promise you’ll stay alive. Promise you won’t leave me,” my words are muffled against his lips, but he understands me.

            He pauses for a few seconds. I know it is not necessarily a promise he can keep, but hearing the words come from Tobias would make me believe that he can. “I promise.”

            My hands quickly reach between us to pull down the only clothing Tobias has on, a pair of black sweatpants that are already hanging low in his hips. Before I can manage to slide them off of him he sits up on his knees and reaches down to the hem of my shirt to lift it above my head, leaving me in only my underwear. My arms quickly cover up as much of my skin as possible. You can still see bones protruding where they should not be.

            “I’m sorry I’m –“

            “You’re perfect.”

            Tobias stands at the base of the bed as he looks down at my body. His hands lightly trace patterns up my legs before he reaches the waistband of my underwear and slowly pulls them down my legs. He quickly rids himself of all of his remaining clothing before he covers my body with his once again.

            His mouth immediately attaches itself to one of my nipples. My hands grasp at his shoulders while my hips frantically buck into him, searching for any friction. “Please, I need . . .” my voice trails off as Tobias starts to trail kisses back up my neck before he gets to be face to face with me.

            “What do you need?” His eyes stare into mine, waiting for my answer.

            “You. Inside.”

            Tobias quickly enters me once the words leave my mouth. My toes curl and my arms wrap themselves around his back as he starts a slow but steady pace. Tobias buries his face in my neck, his lips and tongue lavishing at any skin they can reach.

            It has been too long since we were together like this. Too long since I felt his skin against so much of my skin. Felt his strong, hard body covering my own. Felt this kind of safety.

            “I love you,” I whisper to him. It causes his thrusts to get a little but faster, a little bit harder. It pushes me over the edge, my entire body tensing as pleasure courses through me. Tobias’ lips covering my own during his own climax muffle the loud moans that escape me.

            His body slumps against mine, both of our hearts racing. My fingers trace patterns in his back as we both regain our breath. Tobias nuzzles his face in my neck, placing small pecks along my skin.

            Tobias removes his body from above me and lies next to me. I fall asleep with a small smile on my face.

 

~.~.~

 

            Neither of us got much sleep that night. We woke each other up later that night and ended up a tangled mass of limbs again. Then again in the shower that morning. So far being married was working out well for us.

            Once we finally remove ourselves from the shower I wrap myself in a towel and Tobias does the same. As I start to leave the bathroom to go find clothes for the day Tobias grabs my hips from behind and pulls me into his chest.

            “I love you,” he whispers into my ear before placing a soft kiss behind it and letting go of me. I smile as I walk out of the bathroom.

            I grab a pair of black jeans and a black tank top. I wince a bit as I put my shirt on, my shoulder stinging. Tobias notices and once he is fully dressed he grabs the medicine Cara gave us last night before removing the bandage over my shoulder.

            “It’s heeling pretty quick. You should be better in a couple of days,” he says as be drops a few droplets of the medicine onto my bullet wound.

            We leave our apartment hand in hand and make our way to breakfast. We sit down at our table with our friends and Uriah immediately starts talking to everyone in hushed tones.

            “Have you guys heard what people are saying?”

            “What are they saying?” Tobias is all business now. No more smiles and laughs from this morning.

            “They want two more leaders elected. They’re upset about what happened when Tris and Zeke got here, how Tori and Harrison handled things.”

            “They’re not the only ones upset,” I can hear the bitterness in his voice. He’s angry that I had to start a fight within the entire faction in order to get to him and tell him I was alive that night. I’m angry, too.

            “Well, do they know who they want to nominate as leaders?” I ask Uriah. He just shrugs his shoulders before quickly changing the subject to something about paint ball guns.

            “I need to go talk with Tori and Harrison. Will you be okay?” Tobias asks me as he stands from the table.

            “I’ll be fine,” I tell him. There’s no more time for me to be as weak as I have been the past few days.

            Christina suddenly slings her arm around me. “Don’t worry, we’ll take care of her. We’re going to get her some more clothes and do something about her hair.”

            “What’s wrong with my hair?”

            “It’s just . . . Don’t worry, we’ll fix it.”

            “Sorry. I was in a bit of a hurry when I cut it,” I say with an eye roll. My mind flashes back to waking up along in the morgue in Erudite, finding Zeke and cutting my hair so people wouldn’t recognize me. I lightly shake my head to rid myself of the memories.

            Tobias leans down and places a kiss on the top of my head. “For the record, I like your hair short,” he whispers to me before he walks away and leaves me with Christina, Lynn, and Marlene.

            Our first stop is Christina and Will’s apartment so that they can ‘fix’ my hair. They sit me down in the bathroom and grab a pair of scissors. I let my eyes close as they do whatever they want to my hair. It seems exceedingly unimportant at a time like this. Why should I care about what my hair looks like when we’re in the middle of a war?

            When they are done they position me in front of a mirror. It doesn’t look too different than it did before. The bottom is cut more even and there are a few layers added. I smile and thank my friends for their effort.

            Once my hair is done we go down to the pit. Apparently I need new clothes. I am walking through the aisles of clothes when I hear Christina call me. I follow the sound of her voice and see her holding up some black lacy contraption.

            “Is that for you?” I ask.

            “No. It’s for you,” she shoves the material in my arms.

            “I don’t even know what it _is_ ,” I tell her and try to give it back. Christina just laughs.

            “Judging by the smiles on you and Four’s faces this morning you’re having sex again. You should surprise him one night with that. I’m sure he’ll love it,” Christina tells me with a wink.

            I look at the material in my hands more closely. The top is almost a vest. It ties in a bow between your breasts and then the material flairs out, exposing your entire stomach. Then there is a pair of tiny panties that I don’t imagine cover much of anything up.

            I stare at the material for a few more seconds before adding it to the pile of clothing that I am getting.

            By the time everyone is done shopping it is time for us to head to dinner. We all drop our purchases off at our apartments before meeting at our table. It is still early, so we don’t get any food yet.

            “I have a question but I don’t want to upset you,” Marlene tells me. I could tell throughout the day that she had something on her mind. All of them did. The only person who knows what really happened to me is Tobias. I guess Tori and Harrison know what happened, to an extent.

            “You want to know what they did to me while I was at Erudite.”

            “Yes,” all three of them respond.

            I take a deep breath. I hope this is the last time I have to think about all of this. “Simulations. Lots of simulations.”

            “But, being Divergent means you’re aware during them, right? They’re looking for a simulation that will control the Divergent.”

            “Yes. Jeanine thought that maybe if I were emotionally attached to the simulation it would make me believe it more. My brother told her about my parents, and about Four. She put them in the simulations.”

            I don’t need to tell them what happened to them in the simulations. I can tell by the way their eyes soften and the pity that crosses their faces that they understand that I had to watch everyone I love die in front of me over and over again.

            “I’m glad they didn’t know about all of you, though,” I tell them, trying to do anything to get the pity off of their faces. I don’t want their pity.

            They nod their heads and that’s when the rest of our friends start to enter the dining hall. Conversation starts to flow between everyone and we don’t talk anymore about my time at Erudite.

            While we eat I notice Zeke and Christina whispering between each other. They throw a few looks at Tobias and I before going back to whispering.

            I am anxious to get Tobias alone again. I want to know what the other leaders thought about bringing the Abnegation here. Just before we are about to leave the dining hall Zeke and Christina walk to the front of the room, drinks in hand, and call everyone’s attention.

            “Some of you may not know this, but before all of . . . _this_ happened Four and Tris got engaged. Then there was the whole Erudite takeover thing and Tris and I were gone for a while. Well, now we’re back and it seems the two have decided to get married. They didn’t want a big wedding or attention or anything like that, but Christina and I are not going to be denied the opportunity to give embarrassing speeches about the two!” Zeke shouts at everyone. They all clap and laugh along with him. I can feel my face heat up.

            “Did you tell him?” I ask Tobias.

            “The ring,” he says, locking his hand with mine.

            I want to be angry with our friends. Upset that even though they knew we didn’t want the attention or spectacle that a wedding would bring they still did this. But I can’t bring myself to be angry. It is nice that, even in a time of war, they still care enough to do something like this. 

            “Obviously, Christina would have been the maid of honor and I would have been the best man at the wedding so we’ve each prepared a speech for you all,” Zeke clears his throat dramatically before continuing on with his speech.

            “I met Four during our initiation. First time we actually met was during our game of capture the flag. He was a transfer so we hadn’t met before, but the guy was a strategic genius and won us the game. Four was obviously taken by my charm and we became inseparable.”

            Tobias leans in to me and whispers, “He was loud and annoying and I immediately hated him. Still do,” I laugh as Zeke continues.

            “I did everything I could to try and get the guy a girl the first two years he was here, but he wouldn’t budge. I didn’t know what his problem was, but then he came to me after the first day new initiates were here last year and told me about the Stiff that had transferred.

            “He tried to make it sound casual, like he was just telling me about the initiates. But I could tell by the way he talked about her that she was special. He never talked about anyone like that.

            “I don’t know how he got her to love him back. The man threw knives at her head at one point, but he got her. And they work. She’s a keeper, man,” Zeke raises his drink and others around us do the same before drinking.

            I squeeze Tobias’ hand and he squeezes mine back. I smile up at him, remembering him throwing knives at my head. It’s not my favorite memory of us, but I know he was doing everything he could at that point to protect me.

            “Tris and I were in the same initiate class. She was from Abnegation and I was from Candor, but we just clicked.  We balance each other out, and I don’t know what I would do without her. We all had to see what some of us, especially Four, were like without Tris here for a while. It wasn’t very pretty. Things were thrown, arguments started . . .

            “Now that she’s back things are much better around here. Four is certainly much . . . happier. We’ve all known that they were perfect for each other for a while. Just don’t hurt her, Four, or I’ll have to hurt you. I know how, too. I had a good initiation instructor.”

            Laughs are heard all around quickly followed by some cheering as Zeke and Christina raise their drinks and take a few gulps of the liquid. They both come back to our table and sit down across from us with giant smiles on their faces.

            “I know you didn’t want a wedding but we had to do something when you got married!” Christina exclaims, already trying to explain herself before we even say anything.

            “Thank you. We didn’t want anything big, but that was nice,” I say with a smile, and I mean it. It was nice to see how much they cared.

            We spend a while longer in the dining hall with our friends before Tobias pulls me up. He does not tell me where we’re going, but I quickly realize we’re heading to the training room. I don’t ask any questions. If he were going to tell me why we were going there he would have already.

            Tobias leads me to the training room. I look up at him, curious as to why we are here.

            “We need to get some muscle back on you,” he tells me, motioning forward for me to walk up to one of the punching bags hanging in the room.

            I sigh before I walk up to one of the punching bags. I spend the rest of the night in there while Tobias watches over me.

 

~.~.~

 

            Tobias and I make sure we make it to breakfast early the next morning. He told me that the leaders are going to allow everyone to nominate two more members to become leaders. I’m curious to see who will become our new leaders.

            We make it to breakfast and all of our friends are already here. Uriah is scanning the entire room, his eyes studying everyone he sees.

            “What are you doing?” I ask as I watch him stare.

            Uriah’s head suddenly snaps in my direction. His eyes study me, looking over my form. “Trying to decide who to nominate,” Uriah says quietly as he continues to stare at me. I wonder how he knows the leaders are going to allow new nominations. Maybe he’s just guessing.

            Tobias squeezes my hand before he walks over to where Tori and Harrison just entered the room. They all make their way to the front of the hall.            

            “Some of you are upset about how certain situations have been handled. I am, too. That’s why we’re allowing two more leaders to be nominated,” Tobias tells the room.

            Everyone is quiet for a few minutes. Thinking.

            “Tris!” Uriah shouts from next to me.

            “Uriah,” I hiss at him low enough so only those closest to us would be able to hear. “What are you doing?”

            “You jumped first. You came in first during initiation when no one thought you would even make it through. You helped train some pretty kickass initiates this year. You were captured by Erudite and basically mentally tortured and still managed to make it back here. If anyone can handle being a Dauntless Leader, its you, Tris.”

            “I didn’t do all of that on my own. I don’t – “ Suddenly others around us start to nod their heads in agreement. A few others shout my name.

            I look up at Tobias. He has a small smirk on his face. He ever so slightly nods his head in my direction, giving me his opinion on the subject. I sigh and slowly walk up to where the other leaders are standing. I look around the room at all of the loyal Dauntless members. _How can I be responsible for all of them?_

I try not to think about it and wait for another nomination. People murmur all around us before someone shouts, “Zeke!”

            I don’t see who nominated him, but he hesitantly walks up as well.

            “Let’s go,” Tori says and suddenly we’re walking. Tobias has his hand resting on the small of my back, leading me as we make our way to the same room where I was questioned after I returned from Erudite when Tori thought I was a traitor.

            “I’m sorry for accusing you of being a traitor. I should have gone about that whole situation a different way. Things have been . . . stressful,” Tori suddenly says, breaking the silence as we all sit around the table.

            “That’s understandable,” I say. There are more important things to think about, now.

            Tobias starts talking next, filling Zeke in on the idea to go to Abnegation and bring as many of them as possible here and to Amity. After we discuss the idea more, it is decided that Tobias and I will go to Amity in two days and ask them if they would take in the Abnegation who do not want to fight with us before any more decisions are made.


	18. Chapter 18

The next day Tobias and I get ready for our trip to Amity. He has some work to do in the Control Room, and I spend some time in the training room again.

            Uriah and Will join me in the training room. It is nice to spend some time with them again, even if it is only for a little while before Tobias and I leave the next day.

            The next morning Tobias and I take our time getting ready to leave for Amity.

            “Are you sure you’re okay to go?” Tobias asks me as we get dressed.

            “We’re in the middle of a war. It doesn’t matter if I’m okay,” I snap back. I know he is not trying to belittle me or make me feel weak, but that is how it feels. There is no time for me to heal all of my mental wounds that I got from my three weeks at Erudite. There will be time for that once all of this is over.  I’m just glad my shoulder is mostly healed by now.

            I quickly finish tying my boots and start to walk toward the door but Tobias grabs my arm. His eyes search mine for something. I’m not sure what. But eventually he drops my arm and places a light hand behind my head. He gently pulls me toward him, a soft kiss placed on my forehead.

            Not long after that we are on the train on our way to Amity. We don’t talk much during our travels. Both of us are on edge, full of the nerves that come with leaving the safety of the Dauntless compound.

 We hold hands as we walk toward Amity. We walk under trees that almost form a tunnel around us. In front of the first building we come across is Johanna Reyes, the speaker for Amity. They have no appointed leader, instead choosing to make decisions as one, but Johanna voices their opinions.

Before we left Dauntless Tobias was able to send a message to Amity and let them know of our visit. We didn’t want to encounter any problems once we got here. As we approach Johanna she eyes me skeptically.

“Johanna,” Tobias says in greeting, also noticing the way she is looking at me. “This is Tris, another Dauntless leader. We have some things to discuss with you.”

“I’m sorry for staring but . . . I believe we all watched you die, Tris.”

I repress the urge to roll my eyes. I knew that Erudite was somehow able to hack the projectors in Dauntless and air my execution to them, but I didn’t think they would show it to all of the factions. What was the point of that? To scare people, show them that Erudite was in control? Maybe. I wonder if they showed it to Abnegation. I wonder if my parents think I am dead.

I sigh, not wanting to go through all of the details again. But Johanna speaks before I can start.

“I’m sure this is a conversation we should continue in private,” she says before she starts to lead us through the compound. Eventually we make our way to what I assume is Johanna’s office. She sits behind the desk while Tobias and I both take a seat in front of her.

            “We have a plan. We wanted to let you know and ask for a favor,” Tobias starts. “We want to get the Abnegation out. Once we have them we’ll give them the choice to either stay at Dauntless and train to help us invade Erudite or let them come here for safety.”

            “Of course those who are seeking sanctuary will be welcome here. As long as others agree, I would like to send some of our healers over to be there to help with the wounded who return to Dauntless,” Johanna says.

            It is a good idea to have as many people trained to help the wounded on hand as possible. There are a few Dauntless who are trained doctors, but in a time of war you can never have to many.

            “That would be very helpful,” I say and Tobias nods his head.

            We talk for a while longer. Johanna asks about my execution at Erudite and a little more about our plan. Her questions are not invasive or prodding though. I never get the impression that she is trying to get valuable information from us, she is just curious about what is going on. It is already late afternoon by the time we are done talking.

            “You’re welcome to stay here for the night if you would like,” Johanna tells us as we stand to leave. I look at Tobias and realize we are both exhausted, physically and mentally, even though it is not that late. We both nod our heads.

            Johanna leads us out of her office and down a hallway. As we are walking toward where I assume living spaces are I see two figures walking toward us. My feet stop as I stare at them.

            “What are _you_ doing here?” I try to keep my voice as level and calm as possible but it is dripping with venom. My hand that is not wrapped around Tobias’ clenches into a fist.

            “We left Erudite right after you . . .” Caleb does not finish his sentence. Maybe he does not want to admit I almost died because of him. Maybe he doesn’t care.

            “Oh, so now you two are best friends? Are you starting a club of people who have tried to kill me?” My voice is getting louder the angrier I get. I stare between Caleb and Peter. I remember the feel of Peter’s hands holding me over the Chasm so long ago. I also remember the feel of Caleb stopping me from fighting for my safety from Erudite the day he took me to Jeanine’s office.

            “Calm down, Stiff,” Peter says, a sinister smirk on his face. Peter’s betrayal to Dauntless came as no surprise to me. I never thought he would care if I died. The fact that Caleb now seems to be friends with him is upsetting, though.

            “Watch it, Peter,” Tobias says, his voice low.

            “There is nothing I could have done, Beatrice. I would’ve gotten –“

            “You would’ve gotten killed for trying to save me? If you hadn’t put me in there I wouldn’t have needed saving!” I shout at him before I lunge forward. My fist connects with Caleb’s face before Tobias pulls me off of him.

            “You’re my brother and you took me there to die!” I continue to shout as I thrash against Tobias’ arms.

            “Calm down,” Tobias hisses into my ear. His arms squeeze around my waist as he holds me to him. I concentrate on the feel of his heart beating against my back and slow my breathing. Tobias releases his hold on me.

            Johanna is tending to Caleb, looking over his face for any scratches. Two Amity men walk towards us; one of them grabs my upper arm and starts to lead me away.

            “What are you doing?”

            “Just following protocol,” one of them replies.

            “You’ll be fine, you just need to calm down,” Tobias tells me. I look up at him and realize that he is just as angry with Caleb as I am. He is not angry with me for attacking him. He is just trying to appease Amity.

            I shrug off the mans hand but follow them as they lead me away. They take me to a room and sit me down.

            “I’m sorry. It won’t happen again,” I tell him. He does not say anything to me as he pulls out a box. My heart starts to beat a little bit faster as he pulls out a syringe filled with a light green liquid.

            “What is that?” I ask, trying to keep my voice as even as possible even though I am beginning to panic internally.

            “Nothing to worry about. It will just put you in a better mood,” is all the man says before he walks over and quickly injects me. So quickly I don’t have time to flinch away from him. My body feels heavy again, almost like it did after I was injected with the truth serum.

            “How do you feel, now?”

            I smile up at the man in front of me. “Much better, thank you.”

            Before he can respond the door opens and Johanna walks in. I smile up at her before I stand from my chair. I sway a little bit when I try to walk.

            “Oh, dear. How much did you give her?” Johanna asks the man behind the desk. I don’t listen to the rest of their conversation. I stare at a painting on the wall of the orchards surrounding the Amity compound.

            “Do you know where Four is?” I suddenly ask, interrupting whatever Johanna and the other man are talking about.

            “I’ll take you to him,” Johanna says. She grabs my hand and leads me out of the room. I don’t usually like physical contact with others except for Tobias. Neither of us does. But I do not mind Johanna touching me right now. We leave the room and walk through the orchards before we spot Tobias sitting against the trunk of one of the trees.

            “Four!” I shout as soon as I see him. His head snaps in my direction and he stands. His eyebrows knit together as he watches me literally skip towards him. I throw my arms around his neck as soon as I reach him.

            “What happened to you?” he asks me but looks up at Johanna for the answer.

            “They administered her with Peace Serum. It is standard protocol for us whenever someone has trouble keeping the peace. They didn’t take in to account how small she is, though. I apologize, but she’ll be a bit . . . loopy for a few hours,” Johanna tells Tobias but all I do is stare at his face. Tobias talks with Johanna for a few minutes; he’s angry about something, but I don’t know what. Eventually Johanna leaves us alone and as soon as she is out of eyesight I start to place kisses across Tobias’ face.

            “Tobias? I love you . . . _four_ -ever,” I giggle at my own joke and soon my giggles turn into loud laughter. Tobias shakes his head at me and leads me back to the compound. He keeps my hand in his and I swing them between us. After the third time I trip over my own feet Tobias picks me up, one arm under my legs and the other behind my back.

            I continue to chuckle as he carries me to our room for the night. Tobias sets me down on the floor as soon as he has the door closed. My hands immediately try to pull his face down to mine but he stops me.

            “Sleep it off, okay?” Tobias gently pushes me toward the bed and I lie down. It only takes my body a few seconds to realize how tired I am. The last thing I remember before I fall asleep is Tobias leaving a soft kiss to my forehead.

 

~.~.~

 

            A few hours later I wake up and I can hear the shower going in the adjoining bathroom the room has. This must be one of their nicer rooms because I remember seeing a communal bathroom in one of the halls earlier.

            My mind is fuzzy, but I remember laughing a lot. After a few minutes of concentration I remember the green serum I was injected with and things start to fall into place. I am sitting on the edge of the bed, glaring at the wall when Tobias comes out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his waist.

            “Feel better?” he asks me with a smirk on his face as he puts on the clothes he was wearing earlier back on. I nod my head, still glaring at the wall.

            Tobias sits next to me and takes my hand in his. He plays absentmindedly with my fingers. “You know I love you four-ever too, right?” he asks with a completely serious look on his face. I pull my hand away from his and throw an elbow into his side.

            “Shut up!”

            Tobias just laughs at my anger before he stands. “Come on, its time for dinner.”

            We leave our room, hand in hand, and make our way to Amity’s dining hall. We quickly get our food and sit at a table near the corner of the room. While we eat Tobias tells me about what he did today while I was sleeping off my Peace Serum. He talked to a few Amity, feeling them out to see if any would consider coming to Dauntless after we rescue the Abnegation and train with us before we attack Erudite. A few seemed interested, but not many. They’re wary of us because we’re about to rush into Abnegation and probably kill countless members of our own faction to rescue the Abnegation. I don’t blame them.

            That is the part of our plan that I hate the most. The Dauntless guarding the Abnegation are surely heavily armed and won’t hesitate to shoot us when we attack. So we have to shoot faster.

            “What if . . .” the thought floats around in my head, but I’m not sure if it is plausible or not.

            “What?” Tobias asks me.

            “The Peace Serum. It made me dizzy and _nice_. What if there was some way to inject the Dauntless guarding the Abnegation with that instead of shooting our way through them?”

            “A bullet that, once it has made impact, injects its victim with the serum . . .” Tobias says, his face thoughtful. I let him think about it for a while before he stands up.

            “We need to get to the Amity Control Room.”

            “Why?”

            “So we can call Dauntless and see what they think.”

            The rest of our night is filled with conversations about this new idea. Johanna gave us access to their Control Room and we were able to have a private video conference with the other Dauntless leaders. They were all on board. Apparently Cara and the other Erudite that escaped to Dauntless already had a prototype weapon that could do just what we wanted. People back at the compound are now working on making enough of those special weapons and bullets for us to use when we invade Abnegation.

            We also talked to Johanna about our idea once we got the okay from everyone back at Dauntless. She eagerly agreed. She didn’t like the idea of anyone, even though they were traitors, being shot down during our effort to rescue the Abnegation.

            The downside is that it is going to take some time to get all of the Peace Serum we are going to need. Johanna said it would take a day to get it all sorted for us to take.

            Tobias and I are both exhausted, again, when we finally make our way to our room for the night. Tobias removes all of his clothes except for his boxers. We’ll have to wear the same clothes from today, tomorrow. We weren’t planning on such a long stay.

            I watch him as he undresses with his back to me.             I watch how the muscles in his back tense with each movement he makes. I walk over to him, my body right behind his, and trace my fingers over the tattoos covering his back. His skin is warm under my fingertips. Tobias turns around and places his hands on my hips. They start to trace small circles into my skin as they slowly move up underneath my shirt.

            I put my hands on his shoulders and simultaneously turn him around and push him down so he is sitting on the edge of the bed. I straddle his waist quickly and fuse my lips to his. All of the exhaustion from today is long forgotten as I feel him harden between my legs.

            I kiss my way down his chest, my lips leaving a wet trail down his abs before I kneel between his legs. I pull on his boxers and Tobias lifts his hips up so I can remove them completely. As soon as they are out of the way I wrap my fingers around his member and begin to pump my fist up and down slowly.

            I hear Tobias let out a deep moan above me before I wrap my lips around the head. I begin to bob my head along his cock, taking in as much as I can and using my hand to do the rest.

            This may not be the most pleasant task in the world. Christina often over-shares when she complains about it. But I’ve grown to enjoy it. I enjoy the look on Tobias’ face when I know he is feeling the most pleasure he can. I enjoy the sounds he makes when I do something he particularly likes.

            I moan around him and Tobias grunts in response before he grabs my arms and pulls me up. He stands in front of me, his eyes dark, and he pulls my face to his. With his fingers weaved through my hair he kisses me, our tongues in a battle we both know he will win.

            Tobias makes quick work of all my clothing before he gently tosses my body onto the bed. I land on my stomach and quickly feel his body cover mine. His hands trail down my arms until his fingers weave through mine. He places kisses along my shoulder, careful of my injury, until he reaches my ear.

            “I love you,” his voice is rough and ragged. One of his hands quickly leaves mine to lift my hips to the right angle.

            “I love you,” I say right as he thrusts into me so it comes out as more of a gasp.

            His thrusts are slow and steady. Tobias keeps his face right next to mine. So close that I can hear every breath he takes, and every low moan that escapes him. He keeps one hand on my hip and the other intertwined with mine. My free hand reaches behind me and holds his head next to mine. My fingers pull at the hair near the base of his neck.

            “Tobias,” I whimper as my hand squeezes his even tighter. His thrusts start to pick up speed and he begins to suck on the skin behind my ear.

            Tobias turns my head and quickly captures my lips with his just as I start to climax. Our kiss captures the loud moans that escape both of us as we both come.

            My body collapses into the bed beneath me. Tobias manages to push his body to the side before he allows his body to relax into the bed.

            Once I am able to feel all of my limbs again I manage to get the sheets out from underneath both of us and cover us. I rest my head on Tobias’ chest.

            Just as I am about to fall asleep there is a sudden incessant pounding on the door. Tobias sighs and gets up. I hear him put his jeans back on before he goes to the door.

            “What are you doing here?” Tobias’ voice is not pleasant. Whoever is here is no friend of his.

            “You’re sleeping with my sister?” Caleb. No wonder Tobias was not pleased to see him. His voice is a mixture of shock and anger. My cheeks heat up at his accusation. It wouldn’t have been hard to guess what happened in here just a while ago. Clothes are thrown across the room, my bare leg is sticking out from underneath the sheet, and I’m fairly certain that Tobias did not put a shirt on before he opened the door.

            “I’m sleeping with my wife. You don’t get to call her your sister anymore. You lost that right when you walked her to her death and didn’t care. I had to watch her walk to her execution because of you. I thought she was _dead_ because of you. You’re lucky we’re at Amity; anywhere else and I would already have my hands wrapped around your neck.”

            I hear the door slam shut before Tobias gets back into the bed next to me. I wrap myself back around his warm body and place a kiss on his chest above his heart before I fall asleep.


	19. Chapter 19

Tobias and I sleep in as much as we can the next morning. We don’t have any pressing issues to deal with, so we take advantage of the downtime. By the time we make it out of our room and to the dining hall it is lunchtime.

            We sit at the same table we did the night before and eat in a comfortable silence. Just when we are about to get up to leave Johanna comes over and sits next to us.

            “The Peace Serum should be all packed up for you to take after dinner. I assume you’ll want to get back to Dauntless as soon as possible, but you’re welcome to stay the night again if you’d like.”

            “We should get back, but thank you,” Tobias tells her. I’m glad; I do not want to stay here another night. Dauntless and Amity are not a good mixture. Johanna knows this and nods her head before she leaves.

            “Do you want to take a walk through the orchards?” Tobias asks me. I smile and nod before we get up to leave.

            We spend the next few hours wandering around the Amity orchards. We always keep at least one point of contact between us whether we’re holding hands or Tobias has his arm wrapped around my waist.

            In the late afternoon into early evening we find a spot to rest. Tobias sits with his back to a tree with the perfect indent for him and I sit between his legs with my back to his chest. His arms wrap around my stomach and pull me as close as he can get me.

            “You don’t have to be strong all of the time, you know,” Tobias says. “It’s like you flipped a switch a few days after you got back. You didn’t let yourself heal from everything that happened at Erudite. You _don’t_ have to be strong all of the time, especially around me.”

            I sigh and lean my head back against his shoulder. “There’s no time for me to really get over what happened. At least not right now.”

            Tobias sighs behind me but doesn’t say any more on the subject. He knows I’m right. There is no time in the middle of a war to heal mental wounds right away.

            It is already dinnertime by the time we make it back to Amity. I’m glad we were able to spend the day away from here. I’m even more glad that we’ll be leaving in a matter of hours.

            Tobias and I make a quick stop at our room to wash off some of the sweat we accumulated during our time outside before we leave to make our way to dinner. There is a knock at the door right before we reach to open it.

            “Robert?” I shouldn’t be surprised to see him. I knew he had transferred to Amity, I even saw him during our ‘field trip’ during initiation. But it never crossed my mind to find him while we were here.

            “Hello, Beatrice. I was hoping I could talk to you for a few minutes?” he asks, looking at Tobias warily. I don’t blame him. If you didn’t know Tobias, and he had reason to, he could be extremely intimidating.

            Tobias nods his head. He leans down and places a kiss on my cheek and whispers, “I’ll wait for you at the dining hall,” into my ear.

            Robert and I are left standing somewhat awkwardly in the middle of the room. Eventually, Robert breaks the silence.

            “I hear that Dauntless is going to invade Abnegation . . . try and rescue them?” he asks. His voice is low, almost as if he is scared to get his hopes up that this is what we are doing.

            “That’s the plan.”

            “Susan and my parents, they’re still there. It’s selfish of me to ask to this, I know. There are so many others stuck there, and it could be more dangerous for you, but – “

            “I’ll get them out,” I say without hesitation. I already knew I had to try and get them out. Susan was one of my only friends while I was in Abnegation, and getting her out meant getting her parents out as well.

            “Thank you,” Robert breathes out, the relief palpable in his tone. “I’m glad you’re okay, Beatrice. We had to watch you . . . I’m glad you’re okay.”

            I smile up at Robert. I picture my life if I had not left Abnegation and this war never happened. I would have married him if he had stayed. I wonder if we would have found a way to be happy together. But I know that staying in Abnegation never could have made me as happy as I was in Dauntless the year following my initiation. Christina and all of my new friends and Tobias were my future. Are my future.

            A shot suddenly rings out through the air and my heart stops. I stand there for a few seconds, my eyes wide and staring in the direction the sound came from. Images from the simulations when Tobias was shot right in front of me run through my head.

            I quickly lift the mattress and grab the gun I stashed there our first night here and run out the door. I hear shouting coming from the direction of the dining hall and my feet carry me there. I vaguely register the sound of Robert’s footsteps behind me.

            I get to the dining hall and the doors are closed. I look through the window in the middle of the door to see what is going on.

            From what I can see there are two Dauntless traitors along with Eric, all of them armed. Eric obviously quickly spotted Tobias here. Tobias is sitting at a table, surprisingly next to Caleb and Peter. I wonder vaguely what they were talking about before all of this happened.

            I can’t hear what they are saying but Eric suddenly has a gun pointed at Tobias’ head. Tobias stands up, doing what Eric told him to I assume, and walks to the center of the room. Eric pushes him down to his knees and then looks around the room. Probably for me.

            “You might want to go back to your room, or maybe hide out in the orchards for a while,” I say to Robert before I quickly check to make sure my gun is loaded. “Things are about to get a little violent.”

            I don’t hesitate before I push the door open and immediately lock my gun on Eric. The other two traitor Dauntless immediately point their guns at me, but I don’t care.

            “I’m a bit disappointed I wasn’t invited to the party,” I say as everyone’s eyes land on me. The dining hall is full, Amity all staring with wide eyes at the guns pointed around the room. Then there is Peter and Caleb who are more used to the guns. Neither of them would do anything to stop Tobias from getting shot, though.

            “Oh, the party is being thrown in your honor, Tris,” Eric says with his signature sadistic smirk. His gun does not leave its aim on Tobias. Of course, I knew it was “in my honor” as Eric put it. I heard Jeanine say more than once that I was the strongest Divergent she had come across. Now that she knows I survived the Death Serum I’m sure she has even more tests and serums she wants to use on me.

            “You come with us and I might not shoot your boyfriend,” Eric says. He makes a point of pushing the barrel of the gun into Tobias’ forehead.

            I take a step forward; the other two guns follow my every move. They won’t shoot me, though. At least not to kill me, and I can handle a flesh wound. Their mission here is to bring me back to Jeanine alive. They may think they’re in control of the situation, but I hold all of the power here.

            “You shoot him,” I say and then bring my own gun up and point it to my temple, “and I shoot myself. I don’t think Jeanine would be very pleased with that, do you?”

            I can actually see Eric’s throat constrict as he nervously swallows. I’m sure he knows I would rather shoot myself in the head than go back to Erudite, especially if he shoots Tobias.

            I look Tobias in the eyes for the first time since I entered the room. His eyes burn into mine, begging me not to shoot myself. That was never my plan, though. My eyes quickly shift to Eric and then the traitor Dauntless to my right. Tobias understands, slowly blinking a yes.

            I quickly remove my gun from my temple and shoot Eric’s left knee. He topples over and Tobias quickly grabs his gun before aiming at the traitor on my right. I aim for the one on my left and they both drop their weapons.

            I immediately pick up their gun, realizing that there is no such thing as having too many weapons when in the middle of a war.

            A few Amity quickly work on restraining the three intruders. I recognize one of them as the man who injected me with the Peace Serum. I stare at Eric the entire time. Watch as he clutches his knee where I shot him. I’ve never shot anyone before. Until now.

            Tobias slowly walks over to me. I didn’t realize it before but I still have two guns clutched in my hands.

            “It’s okay,” Tobias tells me with his eyes searching mine, trying to figure out how to help me. His hands gently remove the guns from my hands.

            “I think it’s time to go,” I say. I look up at him. Simulation after simulation floods my mind; Tobias with a knife in his side, Tobias with a bullet in his head. That could’ve happened right in front of me tonight except it wouldn’t have been a simulation.

            Tobias grabs my hand and starts to lead me through the chaos of the dining hall. I assume he is taking us to our room, a safer place for my imminent break down. Johanna stops us before we can make it out of the dining hall, though.

            “The Peace Serum will be ready in less than an hour. I assume you’ll be leaving immediately?”

            “Yes. We will,” Tobias says harshly before he pushes his way past everyone and out the door. When we make it to our room he ushers me in the door and locks it behind him.

            I sit on the edge of the bed and stare up at Tobias. He comes to stand between my legs and his hands frame my face. I know my eyes are wide and scared but I can’t help it.

            “We’re really . . . we’re really in the middle of a _war_ , aren’t we?” it’s like my mind is just now realizing this. I was sheltered while I was at Erudite. They never told me what was going on outside. I knew it couldn’t be pleasant, but I didn’t really think everything through.

            Now I realize that I have to stop letting things like this get to me. I can’t react like this every time Tobias or I are put in a dangerous situation. I have to keep going and keep fighting.

            “I’m sorry I’m – “

            “You don’t have anything to be sorry about. It’s an adjustment, realizing what is really going on now. I understand,” Tobias looks down at me with a small smile on his face. He gently presses his lips to my forehead. “Though, next time we’re in a situation like that I don’t think volunteering to kill yourself is a good idea.”

            I shrug my shoulders. “It worked.”

            Tobias sighs and opens his mouth to say something but there is a knock at the door. I expect it to be Johanna with the Peace Serum for us to take so I stand and get ready to leave while Tobias opens the door.

            “I told you to stop – “

            “I don’t even get to see if she’s alright?” Caleb asks, interrupting Tobias. I guess now I know a little bit about what they were talking about before Eric arrived.

            “No. Has it occurred to you that everything that is happening is your fault? Jeanine started this because she had me to run her tests on. She had me because _you_ turned me into her,” my voice is steadily rising. I can’t seem to control my anger around Caleb anymore. Every time I have seen him since the day he took me to Jeanine’s office I have ended up yelling at him. I know it is not fair to blame everything that has happened on Caleb. Jeanine would have started a war sooner or later.

            “Johanna talked to everyone last night when they voted on if they should give you the Peace Serum. She said that Dauntless was looking for volunteers to learn how to fight after you invade Abnegation. I’m going to – “

            “No, you’re not. You, and Peter for that matter, are not welcome at Dauntless,” Tobias says, his voice so final even I believe him. I know that if they come to Dauntless after we invade Abnegation we couldn’t really kick them out, but they don’t necessarily know that.

            “Just leave me alone, Caleb. You’ve done enough,” I grab Tobias’ hand and we walk past Caleb and out of the apartment. We make our way to Johanna’s office. As soon as we enter I see two duffle bags that I assume are full of Peace Serum.

            Johanna quickly tells us about how much Peace Serum it would take to incapacitate someone who is not as small as me and I wonder if we have enough. I don’t know how many traitor Dauntless they have guarding the Abnegation, and I’m sure as soon as they realize we’re attacking they’ll send more. I suppose we’ll have to resort to normal bullets once we run out of Peace Serum.

            “The three traitor Dauntless, what are you going to do with them?” Tobias asks Johanna.

            “I’m not sure yet. Why?”

            “We’ll send a few people the day of the invasion to bring those who will help with any wounded. They’ll bring all of them back to Dauntless.”

            “We’ll keep them here until then,” Johanna says. I can tell she does not want them here and I do not blame here. They came uninvited and threatened everything the Amity stand for. Peace, kindness, love.

            After we leave Johanna’s office we make a quick stop to their control room. Tobias sends a message to Dauntless to let them know we’re coming back tonight and to turn off the alarms at the entrance by the glass building. I’m glad that this time I won’t have to enter the compound by jumping into the net, unlike when Zeke and I escaped from Erudite just a few days ago.

            We each carry a duffle bag full of Peace Serum as we jump on the moving train. We set our bags in safely in the corner of the car. I move to stand near the entryway, holding on to a handle to my right. Tobias mimics my position on the other side of the entryway. It is nice to be outside, feel the wind rushing through the train car as we speed toward the city. All too soon we are approaching the Dauntless compound and we grab our bags and get ready to jump.

            We’re careful of our bags as we land on our feet. Tori, Harrison, and Zeke are standing at the entrance, waiting for us. It’s late so we give them a quick story about what happened tonight at Amity, promising more details tomorrow.

            Even though we slept in so late today both Tobias and I are exhausted when we finally reach our apartment. It’s nice to finally be back and get to sleep in our own space tonight. We don’t bother showering, we just fall into bed before we let sleep take over.

            When I wake the next morning Tobias is still sleeping soundly next to me. It is rare that I wake up before him. For some reason he is always awake before me. I take a moment to stretch out my limbs before I get out of bed.

            My warm shower wakes me up even more. I try not to think about what today will bring, but my brain automatically starts to think about it. I know it will be full of planning and plotting our invasion of Abnegation. I know everyone wants to do it as soon as possible and that could be any day now. Once the weapons are ready there is nothing stopping us from going forward with our plan.

            My blood runs cold when I think about all of the things that could go wrong during this mission. Abnegation could get hurt, countless traitor Dauntless could get killed if we run out of Peace Serum and they continue to attack us, loyal Dauntless could get hurt. Tobias could get hurt.

            Instead of scaring me, all of those things make me angry. I’m angry at Jeanine for starting all of this. Things could have stayed the way they were; everything was going fine. The Divergent were not causing any trouble, they were trying to stay as hidden as possible. All of the death and destruction that has happened and will happen in the coming days are because Jeanine and Erudite cannot let things be.

            But then I think that maybe this is a good thing. What will be the end result of this? Will we go back to the faction system even though it is obvious it has not worked as well as we all thought? What would a world without factions even look like? Arms suddenly wrap around my waist and a warm body is flush against my back.

            “Good morning,” Tobias’ voice is rough and tired. But, it is also incredibly sexy and makes me wish we didn’t have so much to do today.

            “Good morning,” I turn in his arms and reach up to peck his lips, all of my thoughts about war and Jeanine and the future forgotten.

            We quickly finish showering and get ready for our day. We make our way, hand in hand, to the dining hall for breakfast.

            Before we even sit down at the table Christina starts to ask questions.

            “How was Amity? Did anything exciting happen?”

            “Oh, you know, just Eric showing up with a few other traitor Dauntless to haul me back to Erudite. Nothing new,” I say with sarcasm dripping off of my words.

            “What?” Christina asks, her eyes wide with shock. Tobias and I fill her and the others in on what happened that night at Amity. Everyone is quiet as we talk, staring at us as they absorb the information we give them.

            After breakfast we meet with the other leaders. Tori tells us that the first thing that we should do is test out the new weapons that are being made to inject the Peace Serum upon impact. Tori, Harrison, Zeke, Tobias, and I make our way to the training room. Once we get there I see a cart filled with these new guns.

            Standing next to the cart is a boy I recognize. His glasses are a dead giveaway that he one of the few Erudite who escaped. I have to stare at him for a few seconds before I realize where I’ve seen him. He is the boy I bumped into when Caleb was taking me to Jeanine.

            When his eyes land on me I can see his body slump, guilt clear in his eyes.

            “We haven’t been properly introduced. I’m Fernando,” he holds his hand out to Zeke and then to me.

            “I’m sorry. If I had known what he was doing –“

            “It’s not your fault. You have nothing to be sorry for,” I tell him.

            “You two know each other?” Tobias asks, an eyebrow raised in question.

            “I accidently ran into him when Caleb was  . . .” I don’t finish my sentence. I don’t want to think about that right now. Luckily everyone in the room knows what I am talking about so I don’t have to finish it.

            Tobias picks up one of the guns and starts to study it as Fernando explains it. The bullets are flat, round disks that will hold the Peace Serum. At the center of each disk is a needle, and once the bottom of that disk connects with someone’s body the needle will inject the serum into them.

            “We should test it,” Tobias says.

            “Not me,” I hold up both of my hands and shake my head. I’m not going back to the giggly, Amity-like state that the Peace Serum put me in. “Besides, we should test it on someone closer to the average height and weight to make sure the amount of Peace Serum put in each dose works.”

            Everyone nods their heads. Zeke claps a hand on my shoulder, “You go find a test subject and I’ll go get the serum.”

            I make my way to the dining hall to find someone for us to test the weapons on. Just as I am rounding the corner I run into someone head on.

            Uriah grabs my arms before I fall over. “Oh, hey, Tris,” he says as he releases my arms. I look up at him a smile, a sweet smile that I never have on my face.

            “Oh, no. What do you want?”

            “We just need help with something. You’re the perfect person for the job. Come on,” I lead him back to the training room without telling him any more details. Zeke is already waiting with one of the new guns in his hands. They must have already loaded it.

            “Perfect!” he says when he sees Uriah. He quickly aims the gun and a shot rings out through the room.

            “What the hell –“ Uriah starts but then his body visibly relaxes. While the others exchanged excited looks that the weapon worked, I grimace as I remember the feeling of going under the Peace Serum.

            Uriah walks forward, a new bounce in his step. He puts a hand on Tobias’ shoulder before saying, “Four is a weird name,” and then proceeds to burst out laughing.

            “Well, at least it works,” I say as Uriah continues to laugh. Zeke can’t hold his laughter in anymore and starts to laugh at his brother.

            “Get people working on finishing the weapons as soon as possible,” Tori tells Fernando who nods his head. Now that we know the weapons work we can start to plan our attack.

            Zeke walks Uriah back to his room to try and sleep off the Peace Serum and then meets us back in the conference room. That’s where we spend the rest of our day before our plan is decided.

            One week from today, as soon as the sun sets, we will invade the Abnegation sector of the city. Only two leaders are going. That way if something goes wrong Dauntless will still have at least three fit leaders. Tobias and I are the two that will be going to Abnegation because we know the area best. The other leaders think he just knows it because he went with me to see my parents, but he knows it much better than that.

            While Tobias and I were at Amity the other leaders compiled a list of those who volunteered to be apart of the raid. We divided everyone up into teams, Tobias and I each leading a different team as well as a few other more experienced Dauntless members who volunteered.

            Each team is given an area to evacuate. I have the area where my parents and Susan still live and Tobias has the section next to it. I don’t know where Marcus’ house is, but I hope it is not in either of our sections.

            That night when we go to sleep Tobias’ arms are wrapped around me tighter than they usually are.


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for how long it took to get this up. I finished this on FFN and have taken a bit of a break from writing and completely forgot I didn't post all of it here. I'll work on getting more up as soon as possible.

The next week is spent preparing for our invasion of Abnegation. We have people working on making sure all of our weapons are ready, and not just the new guns used to inject Peace Serum. Each person will have two guns on them: one gun where the special injection bullets can be used and one regular gun. We divided up the Peace Serum and each person will have twenty-five Peace Serum bullets, after that we resort to a standard bullet.

            Everyone has also been told what team they are on for the invasion. There are three to five people on each team, and about ten teams in total. Our numbers were severely lessened when over half of our faction chose to join Erudite, and we don’t want to send everyone into Abnegation. If things end badly we don’t want Dauntless completely obliterated.

            I have Uriah and Lynn on my team, while Tobias has Christina, Will, and Shauna. The area of houses his team is covering has a few more than mine, so I should be fine with only two other people.

            Tobias has also been adamant that I continue training with Will or Uriah or himself during the week before our invasion. I’ve managed to put back a few pounds of weight and muscle, but I’m still much skinnier that I was before.

            The night before our attack I don’t sleep very well. Images from all of the simulations Jeanine put me through, images of my parents and Tobias dying, all invade my dreams. I’m scared that in just a few hours those images could be happing right in front of me, only this time it won’t be a simulation.

            Tobias must not be able to sleep well, either, because I suddenly feel his arms pull me even closer to him.  I can feel the warmth of his bare skin on my back, through the shirt I am wearing. The fact that Tobias usually only sleeps in boxers or sweatpants is definitely a perk.

            He doesn’t say anything has he starts to place kisses along my neck. When he reaches the spot where my neck slopes into my collarbone he starts to suck on the skin there. I can’t stop the moan from escaping my mouth when his teeth start to nibble on my skin.

            Tobias’ hands trail down my body until they reach underneath my shirt. His hands slowly travel back up and leave a trail of goose bumps behind. My fingers grip the sheet beneath me as Tobias’ hands reach my breasts and start to tweak my nipples. His hips thrust into me from behind and I can feel how hard he already is.

            “Tris,” he moans into my neck before his hands leave my breasts and work on removing me of all of my clothing. Within seconds I am completely naked. One of Tobias’ hands reaches over me and cups my center. My breathing hitches as his fingers work on spreading the ample moisture that has already accumulated there.

            When two of his fingers finally enter me I throw my head back against his shoulder and his lips immediately meet mine. The kiss is instantly a battle of tongues and teeth.

            All of a sudden Tobias is gone from behind me. But, before I can complain he is back again and this time without the barrier of his sweatpants between us. He hitches one of my legs behind me so it drapes over his.

            One of Tobias’ arms wraps around me from beneath me and tightly grips my breast while the other works on gently rubbing my clit.

            Tobias knows my body too well. He knows exactly how much pressure to use and exactly where to put it. He brings me right to the edge before slowly bringing me down.

            “Please,” I mumble. My words are so muffled and unintelligible I’m not sure Tobias even hears me. But, maybe he does, because suddenly his cock is fully inside of me and I let out an embarrassing squeak of surprise.

            “I love you,” Tobias whispers into my ear as he starts to thrust. His slow, deep thrusts are accompanied with sweet words whispered into my ear, words of love and words of worries about the days to come.

            All of it combined gets to be too much. When Tobias abruptly bites down on my ear my entire body explodes. My toes curl and my hands squeeze whatever they can reach. I hear Tobias grunt into my ear as he explodes, too.

            Exhaustion foods my body as I turn around and lean my head against Tobias’ chest. I breathe in his comforting scent before I fall back asleep.

            Everyone, including Tobias and myself, are tense the next morning. The dining hall does not feel the same as it usually does. People are quieter, morose, about what is going to be happening in a few hours.

            Zeke and a few others leave after breakfast to go to Amity and escort those who are going to help the wounded after the invasion, and bring back Eric and the other two traitors. We’ve decided that Eric is going to be executed for his crimes against this faction. He will be put under Truth Serum before he is executed, though. We need every bit of information we can get before we invade Erudite. The other two will be put under Truth Serum as well to see how severe their crimes are before we decide their fate.

            I thought the morning and afternoon were going to drag on, the suspense of the night weighing everything down, but the opposite happened. It didn’t take long before Tobias and I were back in our apartment getting dressed to meet our teams in the pit.

            I dress in black jeans and pull on a t-shirt before I put on my jacket. All of us are going to be dressed in basically the same thing so hopefully the Abnegation will realize who the true, loyal Dauntless are during the invasion. So they will be able to realize who to trust.

            After the fifth time I check to make sure I have both of my guns Tobias grabs my hands to stop me from checking again. He stands in front of me and stares down into my face; his hands drop mine and rest on my hips.

            “We’re both going to be fine. We’re going to go in, clear our sections, and then I’ll meet you in front of your parents’ house so we can go to the train. Everything will work out. Okay?”

            All day I’ve had a bad feeling in my gut. A feeling like something bad is going to happen and I wish I could take back ever coming up with this idea. Maybe everyone would be safer if we just left the Abnegation where they are.

            I know that’s not true though. Erudite are giving them just enough food and supplies to barely survive.

            “Okay,” I whisper and suddenly his lips crash into mine. It’s a quick but passionate kiss.

            “I love you, Tris Eaton,” Tobias says before he takes my hand and pulls me out of the door.

            The pit is full of every person who will be going with us on this mission. Christina immediately comes up to me and starts to question, once again, why I didn’t request her on my team. I’ve told her that we didn’t ‘request’ people; we just sorted out who would work best with who. We decided that her and Will would work better with Tobias. They were already somewhat used to following his orders from initiation.

            I don’t really listen to Christina as she keeps talking to me though, I look at Tobias and Uriah talking a few feet away from us. I tune out Christina to try and hear what Tobias is telling him.

            “They still want her. They’ll do whatever it takes to get her back. The only time you let her out of your sight is when she’s in her parents’ house, do you understand?”

            I see Uriah nod at Tobias. I should be annoyed at this overprotective side of Tobias that has come out, but I can’t be angry with him for it. If I had to go through hours of thinking he was dead, and then I got a second chance, I would do whatever I could to keep him safe.

            Zeke, Tori, and Harrison enter and Tobias and I join them at the front of the room.

            “We believe that peace is hard-won, that sometimes it is necessary to fight for peace. But more than that: We believe that justice is more important than peace,” Tori starts, reciting a quote from the Dauntless manifesto. It is fitting for this moment. We are fighting for not only peace between factions again, but justice for what Erudite has done to us.

            “We thank you all for your bravery, and we wish you the best of luck on this mission. Be brave.”

            Everyone’s calm from this morning is gone as they all cheer, ready to fight for what they believe in. The cheering does not subside as we make our way to the trains.

            Teams start jumping in different train cars. Tobias and his team are with my team and me.

            “We clear our houses and then we’ll meet you guys outside Tris’ parents house. Everyone understand?” Tobias says, his entire body reverting back to how he was when I first met him, rigid and tense and strong. Power and confidence exude from his presence here; it’s why I always feel safe whenever he is with me. Even if he is relaxed I know he can become the strong Dauntless any second when needed.

            Everyone nods; we’ve been over this plan countless times. We all know what we need to do. The train ride is quicker that I would like. Tobias squeezes my hand as we get closer to Abnegation. We can already hear shots as teams from the cars ahead jump off the train.

            “Be safe,” he whispers into my ear before kissing my forehead. His team jumps first, followed quickly by mine.

            I take a second to look around my old faction. There are a few Dauntless traitors who are already under the effect of the Peace Serum. They have lazy smiles on their faces and hastily drop their guns, disgusted by the thought of violence while under the Peace Serum.

            We start to make our way to the houses we are supposed to clear. I lead the way through the streets. We are running through the backyard of one of the houses, a shortcut to our area, when I take my first shot. The traitor Dauntless had his back to me as he looked around, unsure of what to do at the sudden attack. I don’t have time to think about him now, though. We continue to run through the streets, shooting the traitor Dauntless who get in our way with our Peace Serum. There are more of them than I expected. We’ll run out of Peace Serum soon.

            We finally make it to my parents’ house and Uriah and Lynn immediately head off to the surrounding houses. They didn’t even need me to tell them. I quickly run up the steps to my old home and pound on the door. I hope they haven’t left. What if they heard the sounds of fighting and are somewhere in the streets trying to help people?

            “Mom! Dad!” I shout. A couple of seconds later my father is standing in front of me, the shock evident on his face. They must have seen me die, too.

            “Beatrice?” his voice is full of shock and wonder. I don’t have time to explain everything to them now, though. I push my father back and see my mother standing behind him, tears starting to fall down her cheeks.

            “We don’t have a lot of time. You need to pack anything you might want to keep. I’m going to get some more people and bring them back here. I have two other friends that are going to be bringing some more Abnegation here, too. Uriah and Lynn will knock twice, then three times. Let them in and _no one else_ , do you understand?” I look at my parent’s still shocked faces. My father finally nods and I leave the house again.

            I immediately head to the Black’s house. Hopefully Susan will have gone back to live with her parents after the war started. I quickly knock on the door once I reach their house.

            “It’s okay. It’s Tris – Beatrice Prior. You can trust me,” a few seconds later the door is cracked open and I see Susan’s face looking back at me. She opens the door more and lets me in the house.

            “You’re – “ Susan starts to ask but then stops. The Abnegation do not ask prying questions.

            “No, I’m not dead. You all need to come with me,” I look at her worried parents behind her. They didn’t want her to open the door, I can tell.

            “It’s okay, I promise. Loyal Dauntless are evacuating the Abnegation. We’ll explain more once we’re out of here but we have to move now.”

            Their eyes widen at the idea of the loyal Dauntless invading Abnegation but they quickly compose themselves before they agree to come with me. I lead them out of their house only to see a group of about five traitor Dauntless walking down the street toward us. I quickly put my last set of Peace Serum bullets into my gun and start to fire. I hear the Black’s gasps from behind me as they fall to the ground only to get up a few seconds later with smiles on their faces.

            “Peace Serum,” I say before I grab Susan’s hand and start to lead her to my parent’s house. Her parents follow.

            As we enter the house I see Uriah and Lynn are already there along with about ten other people.

            “Took you long enough. I already got your last few houses,” Lynn says, a smirk on her face.

            “Sorry, it takes a while to get people to trust you when they think you’re dead.”

            “Fair enough,” she shrugs before we gather everybody together. I look at my watch. One minute until Tobias and his team should be coming down the street toward us. I walk over to the door and look out the small window in it. I can see a group of people heading toward us, but just barely. As they get closer I can see Tobias leading them.

            Something catches his eye and he aims his gun to the left. I see Will shout something but he’s looking to the right. Then, all of a sudden, a body covered in black with a splash of blue is flying toward Tobias, tackling him to the ground.

            “Tobias,” I whisper under my breath. I hear Uriah ask me what I am saying but I ignore him. I try not to overreact. Tobias can take care of himself. He trained Dauntless initiates for two years, he knows how to fight. It is when Will pulls the man off of Tobias and he doesn’t stand up that I start to overreact.

            “Four!” I shout as I swing open the door. I hear Uriah and Lynn shout after me. I know, in the back of my mind I _know_ running out in the middle of a war zone like this is possibly the most stupid thing I have done but I don’t care. As I get closer I start to see the blood. _So much blood_.

            I drop to my knees right when I reach Tobias and see the knife sticking into his side. His hands shake as he reaches down to try to pull it out.

            “No! You’ll bleed out,” I shout, snippets of information from school flooding around in my mind.

            Tobias’ head snaps to me as if he didn’t notice when I fell down next to him. I look up and see his team looking at me, eyes wide. I see my team behind me, Uriah and Lynn standing with all of the Abnegation we rescued as well as my parents.

            “Get them to the train, it’s going to be here any minute. Four and I will make the next one. Go!” I shout. Uriah, Lynn, Will, and Christina will be able to handle getting all of them to the train safely, I know it. It will take me a while to get Tobias to the tracks, but we should be able to make it by the time the next train comes around.

            “Tris, go with – “ Tobias starts to say.

            “Shut up.”

            “Alright, lets go!” Lynn shouts at everyone to get everyone’s attention. The Abnegation quickly follow them to get to the train. I wrap my arm carefully around Tobias’ back as I try to help him stand. We’re not making very good progress until my father appears on the other side of Tobias and helps me lift him.

            “You should go, you can still catch up with – “

            “We’re not leaving you here, Beatrice,” I look over and see my mother is here, too. I look between my parents and realize attempting to get them to catch up to the others is useless.

            I look at Tobias who is being held up by my father. His breathing is heavy and he is obviously having trouble keeping consciousness. I place one of my hands on his cheek and lift his face so he is looking at me.

            “Do you have any Peace Serum left?”

            “No, just my normal gun,” his voice is soft and weak. I don’t like it. I reach behind him and pull out his gun and hand my mother mine. I don’t have any Peace Serum left, either. We’ll have to resort to regular bullets if we encounter anymore traitor Dauntless

            “Think you can still shoot?”

            “Good enough,” my mother tells me as she takes the gun out of my hand.

            “Okay, lets go.”

            We slowly start to make our way through the streets. It’s quiet, like we’re the last people left in Abnegation. I know we’re not, though. There are a few Dauntless traitors asleep on the ground due to the Peace Serum. There are also a few dead bodies covering the ground. I try not to focus on them, though. I know we couldn’t have possibly gotten all of the traitor Dauntless during our attack.

            It takes us about double the amount of time it normally would to make it to the train tracks. Once we’re close enough, I have my parents and Tobias in the back of an alley while I wait near the front to watch for the train and make sure there are no traitor Dauntless around when we need to jump on. It is a relief with the train tracks finally in sight; a relief that quickly diminishes when I hear the cocking of a gun and the rush of two pairs of feet running toward me.

            “Drop your weapon Beatrice Prior. We have someone whose been looking for you,” one of them says as they come to stand in front of me. My stomach twists at the thought of returning to Jeanine to be her test subject. I drop my gun on the ground.

            One of them turns me around, facing me toward the alley that contains my family, and starts to lock my wrists in uncomfortable handcuffs. Two shots suddenly ring out from the alley and both of the traitor Dauntless drop to the ground. The cuffs drop from my hands and the man behind me falls. I look down at him and realize he is shot right in the head, only a few inches above where my head was. I look up and see my mother, father and Tobias walk forward.

            “Good shot,” I tell my mother who is holding my gun. Just then the horn of the train sounds. I look at Tobias, his body shaking with the effort it is taking to stay standing.

            “I’m going to jump on first and then I’ll help pull you up, okay? It’s not going to be pleasant, though,” I look at him and then the knife still sticking into his side.

            We make our way to the tracks and the train slows slightly. We were able to bribe the Factionless man driving the train to slow them significantly for the new Abnegation who would be jumping on tonight.

            I quickly jump into the train as it reaches us and turn to help Tobias up. My father helps him somewhat jump up, and I manage to pull him in the rest of the way. I don’t notice my parents jump in, but I hear them slump against the back of the train car as I gently sit Tobias down.

            I prop his back up against the wall and quickly straddle his legs. Within seconds I am ripping his jacket and shirt off around the knife, trying to touch it and jostle it as little as possible.

            “We have to put pressure . . . pressure will slow the bleeding,” I say, mostly to myself, as I use the shreds of his t-shirt to try and do exactly that.

            “Tris,” Tobias whispers. His hand weakly comes up to my face, his palm cups my cheek. I look up from my work on his wound and I can see it in his eyes. Defeat.

            “No! You listen to me Tobias Eaton. We’re almost home and then the Amity will know what to do. They have good doctors . . . You’ll be fine. You’re not dying. You promised!” my hands start to shake as they keep the pressure on his side and I can’t stop the tears as they start to run down my face. I don’t care that my parents are only a few feet away from us. I press my lips to his, give him a few soft pecks before I whisper, “You promised.”

            “I know. I love you,” he whispers against my lips.

            “Beatrice, I think it’s time to jump,” my mother brings me out of my haze and I look out the train door and realize that she’s right. We need to jump now.

            My father and I help Tobias up. I keep a firm grip on his hand as we both jump off of the train at the same time. He stumbles but I manage to keep him from falling. I sling one of his arms over my shoulders and start to lead him in through the glass building above the pit.

            “Go to the dining hall, you remember where it is?” I shout at my mother. She nods and takes my father’s hand and leads him in that direction. As soon as we enter Dauntless, a few Amity rush towards us with a stretcher. When they reach us the slowly help Tobias onto it and quickly start to look over him.

            “What happened?”

            “How long has he been like this?”

            “He’s lost a lot of blood!”

            So many things are shouted between the usually calm Amity that I can’t keep up. When they start to wheel him away I panic.

            “You have to save him! He can’t die,” I look at the group of Amity surrounding Tobias. Can I trust them to save him? Even though I don’t know these people, I have to.

            “We’ll do everything we can,” with that they wheel him away, I assume to the hospital where I’m sure there are other injuries from the invasion.

            I look around me. Everything is suddenly calm; we were the last to arrive. I know I have to go to the dining hall, that’s where we are supposed to meet when we get back. My legs blindly lead me in that direction but my mind is a mess of images, some real and some from simulations. So many times I had to watch that exact thing happen. But, at least then I knew it wasn’t really Tobias. I knew, during my time at Erudite, that he was okay. He’s not okay anymore.

            Before I round the corner that will take me to the dining hall I lean my back against the stone wall. Ten seconds. I have ten seconds to get my emotions out before I have to go in there. The sobs overtake my body as my legs give out from underneath me.

            _Ten_.

            _Nine_.

            My mind replays the moment when I saw the traitor Dauntless tackle Tobias to the ground.

            _Six_.

            _Five_.

            I see his face looking at me while we were on the train. The way his eyes weren’t their usual deep, vibrant blue. They were faded and sad.

            _Two_.

            _One_.

            I stand up and wipe my eyes of any traces of tears. When I enter the dining hall I immediately see my parents sitting with a group of Abnegation. My mother waves me over, but I just nod in her direction. I have work to do.

            I make my way over to Tori, Harrison, and Zeke. Christina and Uriah are talking with them; they didn’t notice me walk in.

            “Tris!” Christina shouts as she sees me. She runs over and wraps her arms around me. All I can do is stand there, though.

            “Is Four . . .” Tori starts, but doesn’t finish her sentence. I know what she wants to ask. _Is Four dead?_

            “The Amity are working on him. He . . . he lost a lot of blood,” I look down at my hands and see the dried blood that covers my clothes and hands. My hands start to shake at the sight and I try to wipe them off on my jeans but it is already dried.

            Tori reaches her hand out and gives my shoulder a soft squeeze. It is the first moment of true kindness she has shown me since I got back from Erudite.

            Christina and Uriah head over to a table, leaving only leaders standing in the front of the room.  Harrison calls everyone’s attention before he starts to speak. “We are the new Dauntless leaders, but one of us was wounded during the attack. We welcome you to Dauntless. We know you have all been through a lot tonight, but we have a favor to ask. We will be invading Erudite soon. If you are willing, we will spend time training you to fight, training you to fight with us for our city. You are under no obligation to, if you do not wish to fight we will escort you to Amity, but every person helping us would make a difference. We’ll get you someplace to sleep tonight and think about your decision.”

            People resume their conversations right when Harrison stops speaking. I leave my spot at the front of the room and make my way over to my parents. I grab Christina’s arm as I walk by and take her over to them.

            “Beatrice, you’re a Dauntless leader?” my father asks. I don’t expect the look of pride that I see cover his face as I nod.

            “This is Christina, she’ll take you to my old apartment for the night. You two should go to Amity, it’ll be safer there.”

            “We’re not leaving,” my mother says, and I can finally see her Dauntless side coming out. I can see her motivation and desire to fight.

            “At least think about leaving, please.”

            “Mom! Dad!” I look behind me and see Caleb run over to us. My parents embrace him with open arms.

            I step back as I watch them reunite. “Take them to my old apartment, okay?” I ask Christina. She nods but does not stop glaring at Caleb.

            “Beatrice, greet your brother,” my father says as if I am crazy for not being happy to see him.

            “Beatrice, I know you don’t want me here but I - “ I shake my head as he talks. I don’t know how he expects me to trust anything he ever says again. My anger starts to boil inside of me the more I hear his voice.

            “I don’t have time for you, Caleb!” I shout at him before I turn around. I start to make my way out of the dining hall but a hand grabs my arm to stop me.

            “My son, do you know where he is?” I look up at the man in front of me. He’s not worried about his son. He’s worried about his own reputation. He’s worried maybe his son has grown more confident in the years he has been gone. He’s worried that with the Abnegation and Dauntless in the same place his secret will come out.

            “He’s not your son, Marcus Eaton,” is all I say before I pull my arm out of his grasp and finally leave the dining hall. I make a quick stop at our apartment. Just walking in and seeing all of Tobias’ things around the room causes my heart to hurt so I quickly wash my hands and put on clean clothes before I leave again.

            I start to worry even more as I make my way toward the hospital. I try not to let my mind conjure up all of the possibilities of things that could have happened in the time between when I left Tobias in the hands of the Amity and now. My heart is racing by the time I make it to the hospital.

            There are people everywhere, both those in Abnegation gray and Dauntless black. From the injured I can see it doesn’t look as though anyone was too seriously hurt.

            “Tris Prior?” I turn around and an Amity woman is looking at me. She has soft red hair and a tiny button nose. I want to correct her, tell her that my name is not Prior anymore but I don’t.

            “Yes. Four . . . is he . . .” I look up at this woman who has the power to crush me or save me with whatever comes out of her mouth next, I plead with my eyes for her to tell me what I want to hear.

            “Barring any complications we haven’t noticed yet, he should be okay,” she says. I think she keeps talking about what they did. I should listen but all I can concentrate are the last four words she said _. He should be okay_.

            “Can I see him?” I ask her.

            “We have him heavily sedated, we’ll keep him like that at least until the morning if not longer. But, you can see him, yes,” she leads me behind one of the curtains and my entire body relaxes when I see him lying there.

            I pull up the chair that is sitting in the corner of the small square created by the curtains surround us. I sit next to him and grip his hand. He’s not in his clothes anymore. They must have put him in this paper gown after whatever surgery the Amity woman was telling me about.

            I look over Tobias’ form and am glad to see he has more color to his face than he did the last time I saw him. I grip his hand tighter.

            “You’re the strong one. I know you tell me I’m strong but I’m not, not without you. So, I need you to be okay. I need you to wake up when you’re ready and keep your promise. Okay?” I whisper to him even though I know he can’t hear what I am saying. I lean my head down and place a kiss on his arm before lying my head down, nestled into the warm skin of his arm.


	21. Chapter 21

I wake up to Zeke gently shaking my shoulder. I jump slightly, disoriented from sleeping in the hospital all night.

            “Hey,” he says before pulling a chair up next to me.

            “Hey.”

            “I’m sorry.”

            I shake my head. Zeke has nothing to be sorry about. “It’s not your fault.”

            We sit in silence for a few minutes. I look down the Tobias’ hand that I am still grasping. I see the ink I tattooed into his skin. The mark that shows that his fears are mine, and my fears are his. 

            “They said they might take him off of the sedatives this morning,” I tell Zeke. Even though I get the sneaking suspicion that he is not here just to see how Tobias is doing.

            I see him start to shake his head next to me. “I just talked to one of the doctors. She said they were going to keep him under for the rest of the day. He needs to rest to heal and they know he won’t take to bed rest well. They said tonight, after dinner, they would try to wake him up.”

            “Oh,” I look back down at Tobias and wish I didn’t have to wait so long to talk to him, to see him awake and alive.

            “I know . . . I know this is a bad time but the other leaders thought that the Abnegation who are staying to learn how to fight would find it easier to learn from someone who understands them better. Someone –“

            “Someone like me,” the last thing I want to do right now is train members of my old faction how to fight. Especially when I know that Marcus is likely to be one of the Abnegation staying behind, and apparently Caleb did not heed my warning not to come here when I saw him at Amity.

            “I don’t know if all of them will really take me seriously, Zeke. When they think of a Dauntless instructor I’m sure they think of someone more – “

            “Don’t even tell me you don’t think they’ll think you’re a good enough Dauntless to instruct them, Tris. Even if you hadn’t come from Abnegation you’d be the best choice to teach them. You’ve done things and survived situations half of us wouldn’t have been able to.”

            I sigh at Zeke’s little speech. The things I’ve done don’t seem all that brave to me. I did what I had to do to survive. I escaped Erudite because if I didn’t they would either do more tests on my brain or find a more effective way to kill me. I was stupid at Amity, going into that room outnumbered, but I don’t regret that. Not when Tobias was at stake. The Abnegation invasion may have been my idea but it wasn’t perfect. People got hurt, _Tobias_ got hurt.

            But, I also know that they’re probably right. I know the way the Abnegation think. I know how it feels to have to push back that part of your brain in order to become Dauntless.

            “Okay.”

            “Thanks. They’ll be in the training room in about an hour.”  
            “You have to check on him throughout the day, okay? And let me know if anything changes?” I squeeze Tobias’ hand a little tighter. I know that if I didn’t have to train the initiates I would spend the rest of my day in this chair next to him.

            “I will, I promise,” Zeke says as he stands. He gently pats my shoulder as he leaves our curtained off area. I stand up, too, once he is gone and look down at Tobias one last time. I lean down and kiss his forehead like he has done to mine countless times before I leave.

            People stare at me as I walk to our apartment, but I ignore them. I don’t know what they’re waiting for, maybe for me to breakdown right in front of them but that is not going to happen.

When I enter our apartment I head straight for the shower. I do my best not to let my mind wander to Tobias and all of the times he has joined me in this shower. I need to focus today with the Abnegation.

Once I shower I go over to our dresser to decide what to wear. I decide on jeans, one of my tighter v-neck t-shirts, and one of Tobias’ zip-up hoodies. I also pick up my discarded gun from last night and stuff it in the back of my pants. I’ve decided it is best to keep a weapon on me at all times. I look at my watch and realize I am already late to meet the Abnegation. As I make my way through the pit and to the training room I try and decide how to train them. Typical Dauntless initiation training could work. It seems pointless to put them through the simulations and their Fear Landscapes, though. I should stick strictly to physical training. 

I take a deep breath once I reach the door to the training room. When I release my breath I let go of all thoughts of Tobias lying in the hospital and focus solely on training the people in this room.

I walk in and see about thirty people already standing in a line at the back of the room. I’m not surprised to see my parents among them. I knew, even though I asked them not to, they would stay and fight. Unfortunately, Caleb is standing next to them. Robert, Susan, and their parents are also here. So is Marcus.

I move so I am standing in front of them, in the center of the room. I cross my arms over my chest as I look at them.

“Some of you probably – “

“No, this won’t work. We need a more experienced Dauntless member to instruct us,” Marcus says. I look at him and see the same man who I saw in Tobias’ Fear Landscape so long ago, the vile man who beat him and locked him up. 

I take another deep breath to try and subdue my anger before I respond, “I get it. I’m a girl and I’m small and I’ve only been in Dauntless for a year.” As I speak I begin to pace in front of all of the trainees before I stop in front of Marcus. Gasps are heard throughout the room as I reach behind me and pull out my gun. I aim it directly at Marcus’ head before I continue, “But none of that matters when I have a gun pointed at your head, now does it?”

I take a few seconds to stare at this man, the man who beat my husband his entire childhood. The man who locked Tobias in closets for God knows how long. My anger returns ten times worse than it was.

“I have a lot of reasons to hate you Marcus Eaton. You don’t want to give me another,” I lower my gun and return it to it’s previous position. I walk back to my spot in front of the trainees and begin pacing yet again.

“As I was saying, some of you know me as Beatrice Prior. That’s not who I am anymore, though. Here you can call me Tris Eaton,” the gasps that escape the Abnegation and few Amity in the room are surprising. Abnegation are taught not to judge or really react to anything. Their opinion is not as important as someone else’s opinion.

I’m not worried about the Abnegation telling anyone Tobias’ true identity. They won’t gossip, and if they were to gossip it would be to each other. Not other Dauntless.

I ignore the gasps and the harsh stare coming from Marcus and continue. “The other Dauntless leaders thought it would be easier for you to learn from someone who you can relate to, someone who has been in a similar position.

“That being said, we will start with training right away. Dauntless initiation usually consists of three parts: physical, emotional, and mental. As of now we’ll just focus on the physical. I see no need to put you through simulations and your Fear Landscape –“

“Fear Landscape?” Marcus asks.

“A simulation where you face your worst fears. The only way out is to calm your heart rate, to overcome your fear. The average person has about fifteen.”

“Is that why you have the number four tattooed on your wrist? You had four fears?”

“You’re awfully nosey for a Stiff, Marcus,” I glare at him. I don’t appreciate all of his questions when just the sound of his voice makes my skin crawl.

“As I said, we’ll focus mainly on the physical,” I look at the group in front of me. They’re distracted, thinking about other things. It’s understandable to be thinking about the war now but it is unnecessary. They’re safe here, but won’t be forever. They need a proper push in the Dauntless direction.

“Follow me,” I say before I start to leave the room. As I reach the door I look behind me and see all of them still standing there, staring. “Lets go!”

They all scurry behind me as I make my way through the pit. I look around and quickly find the person I need to talk to.

“Stay here,” I tell the trainees and walk over to where Zeke is talking with Uriah and Will.

“How’s it going with the Stiff’s?” Uriah asks but I ignore him.

“I need you to turn off the alarms at the net entrance and turn on the power to the elevator,” I tell Zeke before I look over at Uriah and Will, “And I need you two to be at the net ready to pull people out. Okay?”

“Knew I made a good decision nominating you,” Uriah says with a smug smirk before clapping his hand on my shoulder and leaving with Will.

“And _I_ knew it was a good idea for you to train them,” Zeke says with the exact same smirk Uriah had before making his way toward the control room.

I make my way back over to where the trainees are waiting. I keep walking past them toward the elevator that will take us up to the roof. It’s only turned on in special circumstances. This will be the Abnegation’s first test. Abnegation do not take elevators. It is selfish to take up a spot when someone else could need it. If they go to the stairwell that is next to the elevator I’ll know who is still thinking like an Abnegation, and if they get in the elevator or wait for it to come back down I’ll know who is already ahead.

I can hear the elevator humming with energy by the time we get there and press the button to call it down. The doors open a few seconds later and I step in. Everyone stares for a second until my parents, Caleb, and a couple other Abnegation members get in. I see a group of them walk toward the stairs.

“Top level. Meet us up there,” I say as the doors close.

“Good job. You passed the first test,” I tell the people who are in the elevator with me. I see my mother smirk in the reflection given off by the elevator doors.

We make it to the top and I step out onto the roof. The wind blows softly around me. It’s dark and looks like a storm is coming in. I can hear thunder rumble a few miles away from us.

I walk over to the edge of the roof. Those already up here keep a safe distance from the edge. We wait a few minutes for everyone to get to the top. A large group enters from the stairway and a group of a couple more get off of the elevator.

“After the Choosing Ceremony this is where new initiates are taken. I know you didn’t choose Dauntless and you don’t want to fight or hurt people, but it’s necessary now. You have to leave behind your Abnegation mindset and fight for what you believe in. Fight for the right to believe in it.

“So, why are we up here? To fight?” Caleb asks, his Erudite trained brain looking for answers.

“We’re up here to see how committed you are to fighting. If you can jump off of this roof you will continue training with me for a few weeks. If you can’t we’ll escort you safely to Amity.”

The wind starts to pick up and the sound of the thunder gets louder. This storm has a nice enhancing effect on my speech.

“You want us to jump off of the roof?” Marcus asks, looking at me as if I’ve gone mad. Maybe I have.

“Yes,” I say before I toss my body over the edge. The seconds that I am free falling through the air help me clear my mind, at least until my body collides with the net at the bottom. I take a few seconds to orient myself before I let Uriah pull me out of the net.

“First to jump again, Tris? At least let someone else have a chance,” Will laughs.

“You think anyone out of a group of mostly Abnegation would have jumped off of a building?” there is a reason so few Abnegation have ever transferred to Dauntless.

Just as the words fall out of my mouth two more bodies land in the net. I look over and see my mother and father. I help Will and Uriah pull them out. I am surprised to see the excited smiles of both of their faces.

“Good job,” I say with a small smile of my own.

“You’re doing a good job, Beatrice,” my father says, placing a comforting hand on my shoulder. I don’t have time to respond before the sound of screams echo through the area followed by the thump of a new body landing in the net.

 

~.~.~

 

            After about an hour we have everyone off of the roof. I’m surprised every person jumped. I thought we would have had some take the elevator or stairs back down. I release everyone for lunch and tell them to meet me back in the training room in an hour. As soon as they all enter the dining hall I make my way back to the hospital. I don’t like how familiar the route there has become for me.

            I don’t hesitate to make my way through the curtained rooms to where I know Tobias is. I close the curtain behind me as I enter and take my seat in the chair next to him.

            “Hi,” I whisper. I don’t know why I feel the need to talk to him. It just seems to calm me down even though I know he is not understanding what I’m saying, or even going to respond.

            “I shouldn’t be so confused and lost just because you’re sleeping for a few hours . . . . That’s what I’ve been telling myself. You’re just sleeping, not sedated in a hospital bed because you were _stabbed_. I just don’t know what to do about all of the Abnegation trainees. That’s what I’ve been calling them instead of initiates. I just . . . _don’t know_.”

            Everything is too frustrating for me. I feel like we’re just waiting for the next disaster to happen. Maybe it’s just the uncertainty, not knowing when Tobias will wake up that is making me feel this way. Or maybe it is the stares I’ve been receiving all morning from Marcus.

            The door opens and the same woman who talked to me about Tobias the night before enters, the woman with red hair and the button nose.

            “Hello again, Tris,” she says before she goes over to the machine hooked to Tobias and starts adjusting numbers.

            “When will he wake up?” I ask her.

            “We’ll start weaning him off of the sedatives tonight. After that he could wake up any time. He’ll need to take it easy for a few days but with the medication we’ll be giving him he should heal quickly. I’m Riley, find me if you have any other questions” she says with a nice smile. I’ve never appreciated the Amity’s kindness as much as I do now.

            “Thank you. For saving him,” I tell her before she leaves. I kiss Tobias on the forehead again before I leave. I pick up one of the apples the Amity brought with them and placed in the hospital for those checking up on patients and nibble on it as I make my way back to the training room.

            I toss the core of the apple into a nearby trashcan as I reach the training room. When I enter I’m pleased to see everyone has gotten back on time. I don’t say anything as I make my way over to one of the storage closets and pull out the rack of guns we use for training.

            “The first thing we’ll do is teach you how to shoot,” I start talking as I press guns into each person’s hands. “It goes against everything you’ve ever known, to take someone else’s life. But taking someone else’s life could save the rest of your faction, the rest of every faction.”

            Once everyone has a gun I take one, saving the bullets in the one I have on me, and aim at the one of the targets. “Legs apart, shoulders steady. Breathe in, shoot, then breathe out.”

            I shoot until I don’t have any bullets left. Everyone looks at the target and sees my cluster of holes around the center.

            “Your turn.”

            The rest of the afternoon is spent watching the trainees attempt to shoot at the targets. My mother is the only one who managed to hit a target within the first hour. Eventually people start to get the hang of handling a gun. Susan has the hardest time, though. I spend most of my time with her, helping her position herself right and work through the part of her brain that tells her not to pull the trigger.

            Right before I am about to release all of them the door opens and Tori, Harrison, and Zeke all enter. My heart drops when I see them walk in, thinking they’re here to tell me the worst news anyone could get.

            Zeke sees the horror on my face and reassures me with a shake of his head that they’re not here for that. I sigh as my heart rate starts to slow back down.

            “Hello, everyone. We just wanted to remind you that tomorrow we will be escorting a group back to Amity. If, after what you learned today, you no longer wish to fight with us this is your chance to back out,” Tori says, looking over the Abnegation in front of her.

            “We’ll be needing a new instructor,” Marcus says.

            “Why is that?” Harrison asks, his voice gruff and intimidating.

            “Why do you all think this little girl can help us learn how to fight? If we are going to stay we need someone more reliable.”

            “That _little girl_ has done more for this city than any of you. She escaped Erudite after they tried to kill her. She was held at gunpoint at Amity a week ago. She is the reason we got all of you out of Abnegation; it was her plan. She is a leader of this faction. You shouldn’t be criticizing her; you should all be thanking her. I would want the person who escaped multiple life or death situations training me, wouldn’t you?” Zeke asks, his voice hard and serious. I don’t like seeing him so serious all of the time now, but I do appreciate his words of praise even if I don’t deserve them.

            “I don’t know if you have as many followers as you think you do, Mr. Eaton,” is the last thing Tori says before the rest of them walk out, leaving me alone with the trainees again.

            I look at Marcus as I start to speak, “You would all do well to remember that Abnegation is gone,” I look directly into Marcus’ dark eyes as I keep going, “You’re no longer the leader of anything. You hold no clout here. It’s not a good idea to piss off the people who _do_ make the decisions,” I sigh as I look at the rest of them, “Same time tomorrow morning.”

            I leave the training room and don’t hesitate to make my way to the hospital. Christina is waiting outside the entrance when I get there. She takes my arm and starts to pull me backwards, away from the hospital.

            “What are you doing?” I ask, agitated.

            “I already talked to them. They’ll be taking him off of the sedatives in an hour. You need to eat something,” Christina loops her arm with mine and we start to walk to the dining hall. 

            Once we get our food we sit down at a table with our friends. I just pick at my food, only eating a few bites of my burger as I lose myself in the hum of conversations in the dining hall. A heavy arm swinging around my shoulders breaks me out of my trance.

            “You okay?” Zeke asks me.

            “Yeah, thanks. For what you said, I mean,” I actually manage a small smile up at him.

            “It was all true.”

            “Oh, well, if you feel like you need me to . . . I can train you, too,” this time I manage to laugh a little bit at my joke.

            “Ha ha, Tris. What’s Marcus’ problem, anyway?”

            “I don’t know,” I shrug, wanting the subject changed. I don’t know what Tobias is going to do about his father being here. Will he still be able to keep it a secret?

            “I should go,” I stand up and throw away a majority of the food I got. I don’t leave the dining hall, though. I head over to the table where my mother, father, Caleb, and Marcus are sitting.

            I take a seat next to my mother with Marcus across from me. My mother wraps a comforting arm around me and gives me a small squeeze. It’s nice and not really something she’s ever done before. Displays of affection, even between parents and children, are not very common among the Abnegation.

            “Congratulations,” she tells me. I look up at her with my brows knit together in confusion. “You and . . . Four got married. Congratulations,” my mother says with a smile. I have a smile of my own as I remember waking up from my nightmare and signing our wedding papers.

            “How is he?” she asks me.

            “They say he’ll be okay. They’re going to try and wake him up soon. He’ll need to rest though, which will be hard for him to do. He’s not the ‘take it easy’ type,” I tell her before I lean over the table a little closer to Marcus, “If you go near him . . . If you so much as fucking look at him, I will _kill_ you. Do you understand me?” I keep eye contact with him. His eyes are almost the same shade of blue as Tobias’. It is a color that usually comforts me, but on him it just angers me.

            “I don’t know what you’re – “

            “Don’t. You know exactly what I’m talking about, Marcus.”

            “Beatrice! You have no right to – “

            I stand up from the table. I’ve gotten my message across. I look down at my parents who seem shocked and upset with my words to Marcus, “The Erudite weren’t wrong about everything,” my eyes flit to Caleb who is sitting next to my father before I leave the dining hall.

            As soon as I get to the hospital I head directly to Tobias’ curtained off area. Riley is in the corner, pushing buttons on the machine attached to Tobias again.

            “Are you taking him off of the sedatives?” I ask her.

            “Yes. It will probably still take him a while to wake up, hours most likely.”

            I nod and take my seat next to him. I hear the curtain slide back into place as Riley leaves and I wrap one of Tobias’ hands in both of mine. I lean my elbows on the edge of the bed and start to talk to him again.

            “Your dad is here. He doesn’t like me very much. I also may have told him we got married. I hope he leaves so you don’t stress yourself out about him when you should he healing, but I know he won’t,” I sigh as I look down at him. Just a few hours. Just a few more hours and I’ll be able to actually talk to him.


	22. Chapter 22

I feel something on my forehead but I’m too tired to deal with it. I scrunch my eyes and try to fall back asleep but it is useless now. As I become more aware of my surrounds and my mind is not as fogged down by sleep I feel fingers running through my hair. My eyes slowly open and I look up to see Tobias’ deep blue eyes looking down at me.

            The smile that covers my face is instant as I see him finally awake. I lift my head up from its spot on the edge of the bed and interlock our hands together.

            “Hi,” I whisper to him, giving his hand a gentle squeeze.

            “I kept my promise,” his voice is gruff and tired but he manages a small smile.

            I smile back at him, completely happy for the first time in days, “Yeah, you did.”

            “What’s going on? Did the Abnegation – “

            “I should go get the doctor. I’ll be right back,” I cut him off and get up and make my way through the hospital area. I see a flash of red hair ahead of me and head in that direction

            “Riley!” I shout. She turns her head and smiles at me, “He’s awake. I thought maybe you would need to check on him? Make sure everything is okay?”

            “Oh, good! Yes, lets go,” we make our way back to Tobias’ area. He tries to sit up when we walk back in, but winces as he tries to move.

            “Try not to move around too much. We can help you sit up if you’d like, though?” Riles says as she picks up a chart that is hooked to the end of Tobias’ bed.

            He nods, wanting to sit up. Riley and I both walk over to him. She helps lift him up from one side of the bed, and I help from the other. Once we have Tobias situated Riley starts to look over the chart, periodically looking at the machines next to him.

            “I don’t like this,” Tobias huffs. The doctors were smart to keep him sedated for so long. He will not be a very pleasant patient.

            “I know, but you just have to get better. After a few weeks you’ll be back to normal. Right?” I look up at Riley.

            “Yes. You’ll have a scar from the wound and surgery, but you’ll be back to normal in a couple of weeks. You have to take it easy, though. No fighting, no exercising, no sex,” my face heats up. I’ve never met an Amity like Riley before. In the few conversations I’ve had with her she actually seems like someone I could grow to like. I’ve heard her with other patients; she doesn’t put up with their antics and is not afraid to call someone out if she thinks they’re lying. She’s bold, but sweet; a mixture of Dauntless and Amity. Maybe she’s Divergent.

            “If you agree to no strenuous activity we can get you out of here tonight when Tris can look after you. If not you’ll be stuck with us for a while,” she smiles, already knowing what choice Tobias is going to pick.

            “Fine,” Tobias mumbles under his breath.

            “Okay, then. Tris, I’ll fill you in on everything you’ll need to know when you get back tonight to pick him up, okay?”

            I nod and Riley leaves the room.

            “Where do you have to go?” Tobias asks, his brows knitted together.

            “I’m training the Abnegation and Amity who volunteered. My parents stayed, so did Caleb. Marcus is here, too. He doesn’t like me much,” the last part rushes out of my mouth. Part of me hopes he doesn’t catch my words and won’t care, but I know he understood me.

            “Did he touch you?” his voice is low and deadly when he asks me this. I have no doubt in my mind that if Marcus ever did anything to me Tobias would kill his own father. I don’t know how I feel about that, though.

            “No, he just tried to convince us to have someone else train them. Zeke had a little chat with all of them, don’t worry,” I reach my hand up to brush some stray hair that flopped onto his forehead and covered his eyes.

            I can tell he isn’t happy with my answer, though. He shouldn’t be worrying about these things. He is supposed to rest and take time to heal.

            “You can’t worry about him right now. You need to focus on getting better. You have to get better, okay?” My voice comes out more desperate than I mean for it to. The stress of the past few days takes over my body and I do my best to keep my tears from falling down my cheeks.

            Tobias threads his fingers into my hair and pulls my face close to his. I lean over him, careful of the side of him that is still bandaged. His lips are so close I can feel heat radiating off of them.

            “I’ll get better. I promise,” his lips press to mine softly. Tobias places so many soft pecks on my lips and around my face I lose count. This is my Tobias. The sweet one who kisses my face however many times it takes to make me smile again.

            I look down at my watch and sigh. I have just enough time to get back to our apartment and shower before I have to meet the trainees.

            “I have to go. I’ll be back at lunch, okay?” Tobias nods his head and I place a soft kiss on his cheek. “I love you,” I whisper into his ear.

            He smiles up at me and says, “I love you, too.”

 

~.~.~

 

            All of the trainees are, once again, in the training room by the time I get there. I took my time getting ready even though I didn’t really have the extra time too. I decided that my downfall as an instructor was that I didn’t have the same presence that Tobias had with us. I was not intimidating and did not have the same sense of superiority as others. I needed to change that. And I had a few ideas on how to help with the intimidating part.

            I purposefully wore a tank top that showed off my raven tattoos as well as the ones on my shoulders. I put on the black eyeliner that Christina made me buy. I added a little extra eye shadow around my eyes that gave them a dark, smoky look.

            I decided for the first half of today we would work with knives. Apparently they’re more important than I once thought if the traitor Dauntless go around stabbing people.

            I don’t say anything as I enter the training room. I start setting the area up for everyone to have a spot to throw. The trainees are curiously watching me, which is strange for former Abnegation members. Maybe they’re finally realizing that they need to shed that layer of selflessness in order to survive.

            I continue to ignore them as I get everything prepared. I leave the targets and go to the storage area to retrieve the knives. When I get back Marcus is standing in front of the targets, speaking to the trainees.

            “We need to be taught by the best. This girl has been in Dauntless a year. She’s lucky to have survived – “ Marcus stops talking when my knife hits the target next to his head. It’s not as close as the knives Tobias threw at me during my initiation, but close enough to cause his eyes to widen in fear.

            “That’s enough, Marcus,” I tell him, my voice cold and hard.  “You don’t make the decisions anymore, I do. You don’t lead them anymore,” I motion to the Abnegation and few Amity standing behind me, “I do. So _stop_ forcing your opinions on people and _stop_ trying to make it seem like you hold an important position here because you don’t. You’re in our territory and we don’t take well to strangers,” I look around at the other trainees staring at me with wide eyes. “During my initiation my instructor threw multiple knive _s_ at my head. You’re lucky I only threw one.”

            Marcus stares at me for a few seconds. He quickly realizes that I’m not budging and moves to stand with the rest of the trainees.

            The morning passes fairly quickly after that. I can tell that some of the trainees are starting to see me differently. I get some of the same looks I saw my fellow initiates give Tobias when he was training us.

            Once everyone is released for lunch I make a quick stop in the dining hall for a sandwich. I wrap it in a napkin and make a quick stop to the table where all of my friends are sitting.

            “He’s awake. He’ll be able to leave the hospital tonight,” I tell them. Zeke is the one that looks the most relieved. I know Tobias being injured worried him, too. Tobias is his best friend, second to only Uriah.

            “We should have a party! Things have been so stressful since the Abnegation invasion . . . “ Christina says and I can already see the wheels turning in her head.

            “You can have a party, but Four and I won’t be there. He needs to heal and the doctor said no strenuous activity for a while.  No party for us,” with that I leave the dining hall. I stop in our apartment and grab a clean set of clothes to leave with Tobias so he’ll be able to change into them before we leave the hospital tonight. They have him in some kind of hospital gown that I know he won’t leave the hospital in.

            It does not take me long to make it to my usual chair next to Tobias in the hospital. I make it to the room just in time to hear him arguing with the Riley that whatever she brought him for lunch is not, in fact, food.

            When I walk in she looks at the sandwich in my hands and says, “You better not give him any of that. He either eats this or nothing at all,” she sets a tray of strange looking soup on the table before she leaves. I wait a few seconds and get situated in my chair next to Tobias before I tear the sandwich in half and hand it to him.

            The curtain swings open a few minutes later and my hand immediately snatches the remains of Tobias’ sandwich out of his hands, thinking Riley has come back. I look up amid Tobias’ protests and see Zeke standing in front of us.

            “Oh, here you go,” I hand Tobias his sandwich back. I get a playful glare in return. “Hey, I’m just trying to save you from whatever Riley would do if she found out you had that sandwich and not the soup. I get to leave in half an hour, you’re stuck here until I pick you up tonight.”

            “Just wanted to see how our little patient was doing,” Zeke says with a laugh as he pulls up another chair next to Tobias on the other side of his bed.

            “I’m fine,” Tobias says. He tries to sit up a little bit straighter in order to prove that he is fine. He winces as he does so, though. I gently push his shoulders back against the bed.

            “In all seriousness, don’t push it, man. We need you around. Do what the doctors say and don’t mess up your recovery,” Zeke says with a brotherly pat on Tobias’ shoulder. Then Zeke looks to me, “I hear someone had a little too much fun during training today.”

            I barely contain the urge to roll my eyes. I’m sure Marcus used my knife-throwing stunt as another excuse as to why I shouldn’t train them. “It’s not like I actually hit him,” I mumble under my breath.

            “What happened?” Tobias asks.

            “A couple of the trainees still don’t want me to train them. I just . . . accidently threw a knife in someone’s direction.”

            “Someone? Eaton has done everything he can think of to get someone else to train them. What’d you do to him?”

            “Nothing. He’s just never liked me, much.”

            I feel Tobias stiffen next to me. I know I need to keep him as calm as possible until he has healed. Any talk of his father is going to stress him out and possibly push his recovery behind.

            “I should go,” I sigh as I look at my watch. I lean over and give Tobias a quick peck on his lips before I stand up.

            “Don’t stay too long. He should rest,” I tell Zeke who just smirks up at me.

            “Well aren’t you the little caretaker,” he laughs.

            “I’ll be fine. Go,” Tobias says but I know he would rather I stay. Stay as far away from his father as possible.

            I actually make it to the training room before most of the trainees this time. The only people there are my mother and father, surprisingly.

            “You’re early,” I say. I walk over and give each of them a quick hug before I start to get the room set up for shooting practice.

            “Beatrice,” my mother says, her eyes look sad and worried.

            “Is something wrong?”

            “Marcus Eaton . . . did he really do all of those things the Erudite wrote?”

            I sigh and look down. It’s not my place to tell people Tobias’ story. “It’s not my story to tell.”

            We stop talking and I get back to work as more trainees file in.

            The rest of the afternoon is spent with the constant sound of bullets flying through the air. The sound used to be exciting to me. During my initiation and training the initiates with Tobias before it was a sound of a new beginning, a new Dauntless lifestyle. But, now the sound reminds me of running from Erudite and shooting Eric in the leg and invading Abnegation, none are memories I’m fond of.

            Eric. I forgot that Zeke brought him and the other two traitors back from Amity when he went to get volunteers the day of the invasion. I assume he is in the same holding area Zeke and I were taken to when we got back from Amity. I haven’t talked to any of the leaders in an official capacity since we got back. I’ll need to soon, though.

            I watch Marcus closely today. His aim has improved since yesterday’s lesson. He has a strange, almost sinister, smile on his face with the gun in his hand. I don’t like it. I don’t like him knowing how to use a gun and how to hurt people in even worse ways than he already knew how to.

            After I release everyone my parents and Caleb stay behind and offer to help me clean up. I tell them how to put the targets back and notice Marcus sticking around.

            “How’s Four?” my mother asks as she helps me get all of the guns back on the cart. I stiffen at the mention of Tobias around Marcus. It has to be the reason he waited behind.

            “He’s good. Getting released tonight. I’m going to eat dinner and then go to the hospital to pick him up,” I don’t like lying to my mother. Tobias is good, but I’m not going to dinner before I pick him up.

            “That’s wonderful,” my mother’s voice is genuine and it makes me smile. I never knew how good it would feel to have her support not only my faction choice, but my husband as well.

            I look behind me at where Marcus was before but now he’s gone.

            “That should be good enough. Thank you,” I say to the members of my family. I rush out of the training room and walk as fast as I can without attracting attention toward the hospital.

            When I get there I see Marcus arguing with Riley right outside of Tobias curtained off area. I’m sure he can hear them.

            “Leave,” I say to him as I approach them from behind.

            “You can’t – “

            “I believe wife trumps estranged father. Don’t forget about our talk from yesterday,” with that I slide behind the curtain, careful not to let Marcus see into the area or Tobias see out. I stand with my back right against the curtain for a few seconds until I hear the sound of his feet retreating.

            “I’m sorry, I thought I would be able to beat him here. He was hovering while my parents helped me clean up . . . I told my mom I wasn’t going to be here until after dinner and then he disappeared. I wanted to see what he would do.”

            “It’s okay,” Tobias says, his voice isn’t okay though. I look at him for a few seconds before I realize what it is. He was scared. His abusive father was right outside and he can barely sit up. What if Marcus had gotten in here?

            “We can go home now,” I say with a smile to try and get him to relax. He smiles at me but I can tell he’s just doing it to try and make me feel better.

            Riley enters and starts to tell me about the medication Tobias will need to take, and any special information I should know. He has some light painkillers he can take whenever he needs as well as an antibiotic just in case he got an infection from anything, either the surgery or the traitor Dauntless’ knife. She tells me he’ll need to cover up his dressing on his side, but he should be able to shower and not mess up the incision.

            Riley leaves us and I walk over to the bed to help Tobias up. I can see the concentration he is putting behind simply standing and guilt crushes me when I think about how it was my plan that put him in this position. I push that aside though as he sits up on the edge of the bed.

            I set his clothes down on the bed next to him and reach for the tie on the back of his hospital gown.

“Tris, you don’t – “ I ignore him and untie the back of the hospital gown and help him get the shirt over his head. We quickly maneuver his body and manage to get the rest of his clothing on before he’s standing.

“Are you okay to walk?”

Tobias takes a few small steps before he realizes he can walk normal for the most part. I stand next to him, on his uninjured side, and sling his arm over my shoulder. To anyone else I would just look like a romantic gesture on Tobias’ part, his arm resting around me. But I want to be able to support him if he needs it.

“You know, I appreciate you taking care of me but I’m not completely fragile,” he tells me before placing a kiss into my hair.

I shake my head and we make our way out of the hospital. We make it to our apartment without any problems. I leave Tobias sitting in bed to go to the dining hall to get us some dinner. I grab a couple of burgers and start to make my way out when Zeke stops me.

“What’s the deal with Eaton, Tris? It’s more than him just not liking you. I heard he caused some kind of scene in the hospital?”

“It’s nothing, Zeke. Just drop it.”

“You can trust me. You know that,” I look up at him and know that I can trust him with my life; I _have_ trusted him with my life before.

“You’ll have to talk to Four about it,” is all I give him before I head back to our apartment.

I walk in and Tobias is in the same spot I left him. We quickly and quietly eat our dinner, just enjoying the fact that we can do it together. When he slowly and carefully starts to get out of bed I ask him what he is doing.

“Going to take a shower. You’re welcome to join me if you want,” Tobias says with a boyish smirk before he goes into the bathroom. I sigh and grab the plastic Riley gave us to cover Tobias’ side and tape before I follow him.

Tobias has already managed to get his shirt off when I enter. I don’t say anything as I start to tape the plastic over the bandage that covers his side. I can feel him staring at me as I work to get the plastic in just the right spot but I ignore him.

“Thank you,” he whispers once I’ve finally finished. I look up at him and see the emotion swirling around his eyes and I understand why it is there. Growing up, after his mother left, he never had anyone take care of him.

            I’m so lost in my thoughts that I do not notice his hands reaching down and fiddling with the hem of my tank top. I step away from him as soon as I realize what he is doing and move to start the shower.

            “Get in,” I tell him and watch as he finishes removing the rest of his clothing before he steps into the shower. Once Tobias is in I start to remove my own clothing and get in behind him.

            I take the soap out of his hand as he smiles down at me. I take my time washing his body. I run my hands down his chest, careful of the plastic covering his side. I trace the tattoos covering his back with my soap-covered fingers. Once I’ve thoroughly cleaned his body I reach for his shampoo.

            I lean up on my toes and Tobias has to bend his knees a little bit for me to be able to reach all of his hair. I thoroughly rub the shampoo in before he stands under the spray to wash it out.

            I start to quickly wash my own body until the soap is stolen from me. Tobias says nothing as his hands start to rub the soap into my skin. He shouldn’t be taking care of me; it’s my turn to take care of him.

            “You – “

            “Shh,” is all I get as he continues to wash me, his hands glide smoothly along my skin.

            I close my eyes as he starts to wash my hair. I feel his fingers lightly scrape my scalp while he works the shampoo into my hair and the events of the past few days catch up to me. _Tobias could have died_. I squeeze my eyes closed tighter. I’m glad we’re in the shower and that the tears running down my face blend with the water.

 Tobias tips my head back under the water to rinse the shampoo out. He angels my face up to look at his and when I open my eyes I’m lost in a sea of blue. I can tell that, even through the water falling from the shower, Tobias can tell I’m crying.

“It’s okay,” his hand comes up and cups my cheek, running along my cheekbone, “We have to be strong out there for everyone else, but not here where it’s just us.”

I carefully lean my head against his chest and align my body with his. I don’t have to say anything for him to know what I’m thinking about. Tobias getting hurt was a wake up call for me. This is a war and people die. We have to do whatever it takes to make sure neither of us are those people. It’s selfish and wrong to be thinking like that, but I don’t care anymore.

I reach over and turn off the shower. We quickly dry off, Tobias dresses in just his sweatpants and I grab a large sleep shirt. When we get into bed Tobias lies on his uninjured side and pulls my back into his chest. His arm secures my body to his and his chin rest lightly above my head.

“We’ll be okay,” is the last thing I hear before I drift to sleep.


	23. Chapter 23

The next week is spent in meetings with the other leaders, training the Abnegation and Amity, and attempting to get Tobias to sit still enough to heal.

Tori, Harrison, Zeke, Tobias and I have had meetings almost daily. I update them on how the trainees are doing and we work out details of our plan to invade Erudite. We still don’t have a definitive plan, but we’d like to have our attack be approximately three weeks from now. We’ve gone over blueprints of the Erudite sector and thought of countless ways to attack, but none of them seem good enough. All of these plans have me even more worried about training others.

So far I’ve only had the trainees working on shooting and a little bit with knives. I think they’ll benefit the most from having good aim when needed. Fighting is up next, and it’s what I’m most worried about. I can assign them fights but all of these people are still Abnegation to the core. No one will throw the first punch.

Tobias has proven to be the worst patient anyone could ever have. The doctors have told him countless times to just take a few days to lie in bed and let his body recuperate but he is up most mornings before me. He is mostly healed by now, but I still wish he had relaxed more while he could.

It has been interesting living at Dauntless with my parents and brother here as well. The fact that I am their instructor makes things even more complicated. I tend to avoid Caleb as much as possible. Being near him reminds me of Erudite and his betrayal and I do not have time to think about that now.

My parents have been adjusting to Dauntless well. My mother seems happy here. She requires little instruction while we’re training and even helps those around her if I’m busy with someone else. My father has been adjusting well. He’s also started to act differently toward Marcus. He no longer sees him as his colleague and as close of a friend as Abnegation allow. He now knows the true Marcus.

The day after Tobias was able to leave the hospital Zeke showed up and demanded to know what was going on with Marcus. It was one of the few times I had seen Zeke truly angry.

 

**FLASHBACK**

 

_Tobias and I are just getting into bed when we hear knocking at the door. It’s still relatively early but both of us are exhausted. I’ve been working with the new trainees all day and Tobias’ injury is still taking a lot out of him._

_I open the door and see Zeke standing there. He doesn’t say anything to me, he just walks past me and takes a seat in a spare chair we have in the corner._

_“Tell me what’s going on between all of you and Marcus Eaton. I know something is happening. He’s taken every chance he could to belittle Tris when everyone knows she one of the strongest assets we have and he caused some kind of scene at the hospital. If you want it kept a secret that’s fine, I wont tell anybody, but please just tell me so I can understand what’s going on.”_

_Tobias sits on the edge of our bed and I go and sit next to him. I look at him out of the corner of my eye and can see how undecided he is about the situation. I told him this morning about how Zeke knew something was going on between me and Marcus and that I told him it was not my story to tell. He knew this was coming but not so soon._

_Tobias takes a deep breath before the says, “He’s my father.”_

_“Marcus Eaton is your father?” Tobias nods and Zeke continues with his questions, “Okay, so what’s his problem then?”_

_“He was always . . . abusive growing up. Toward me and my mother before she died. He didn’t think I was brave enough to transfer, he thought I would stay and be the loyal Abnegation son he trained me to be. I realize, now, transferring was more cowardly than brave.”_

_“It’s not a cowardly thing to do to distance yourself from someone who hurt you. What kind of coward thinks it’s okay to hit their own son?” I can see the anger all over Zeke’s face. This is obviously a touchy subject for him._

_He basically took the words out of my mouth, though. I’m glad he sees the situation the same way I do. I’m glad Tobias now has more than one person to tell him leaving Abnegation wasn’t an act of cowardice._

_“It was – “_

_“No. It wasn’t,” I don’t like listening to Tobias talk about his father. He doesn’t do it much for a reason. He gets tense and angry when he thinks about Marcus; two things he’s not supposed to be while he is trying to recover._

_“So he doesn’t like Tris because you two are together,” Zeke states more than asks. He’s figured everything out._

_“Well, I may have threatened him and that probably didn’t sit well with him,” I shrug._

_“What?” Tobias asks, his eyes narrowing in my direction._

_“The night before you woke up. I told him that if he went anywhere near you I would kill him.”_

_“Tris you shouldn’t – “_

_Zeke stands and rests a hand on my shoulder. The smirk he gives me tells me he agrees with what I did._

_“She won’t need to kill him. I’ll keep an eye on him while he’s around you and her. I’m glad you’re okay, buddy.”_

**END FLASHBACK**

 

The sound of a gunshot brings me out of my thoughts. I look around and see all of the trainees aiming at their targets. I look down at my watch and realize that if I let them go an hour early I can go with Tobias to his doctor’s appointment. He told me not to worry about it, but I want to go and hear what the doctor has to say for myself. Tobias would just tell me that he’s ‘fine’ no matter what the doctor told him.

“That’s enough for today,” I tell them and start to collect everyone’s weapons. Everyone begins to file out of the room, but my parents stay behind and help me clean up like they do most days.

“You know you don’t have to stay,” I tell them this everyday, but they never listen.

“Why did you end early today?” my mother asks.

“Four is going to the doctor, hopefully to get the all clear. I wanted to see what they said,” I shrug and walk the cart of guns to the storage area. As soon as everything is locked up we leave the training room. I leave my parents halfway to the hospital where they break apart from me to head back to my old apartment.

Just as I get to the hospital I see Tobias walking behind a curtained off area with Riley. I slide in behind them and stand in the corner to listen.

“Any soreness?” Riley asks Tobias as he removes his shirt. His side is healed; the only reminder of his accident is the five-inch scar that covers his skin.

“None.”

“Are you telling me the truth?”

Tobias twists and turns his torso showing her that he can do so easily and without any pain. Riley walks over and applies pressure on his side. I see Tobias stiffen at the contact but then his eyes meet mine and he seems to relax a little bit.

“Everything looks good, then. You can resume your usual activities. Just don’t overdo it for a couple days, ease back into things,” Riley says with a sweet smile. She writes something down on Tobias’ medical chart and turns around to leave, giving me a smile before she walks out.

I wait while Tobias puts his black t-shirt back on. As soon as he is dressed again he strides over to me, frames my face with both of his hands, and kisses me. My hands grip his shirt wherever they can reach as his mouth continues to devour mine.

“Tonight you’re mine,” Tobias breathes into my ear before he grabs my hand and casually walks out of the hospital. My face is flushed as I hastily follow him. As we approach the dining hall I see my parents doing the same.

“All better?” my father asks, looking at Tobias.

“Yes, finally,” Tobias replies.

My mother places a light hand on Tobias’ shoulder and gently squeezes. We part ways as we enter the dining hall, Tobias and I go and join our friends for dinner.

“All clear?” Zeke asks.

“Yeah, all clear,” Tobias says. His smile is contagious as he talks to Zeke. We’re still in the middle of a war but it feels like a weight has been lifted off of me now that I know Tobias is okay for now.

We take our time at dinner. We talk to our friends and laugh like everything is completely normal. We get stares from some of the Abnegation and Amity as we talk louder than necessary and show our true Dauntless sides.

A couple hours later Tobias leans down and whispers, “Time to go,” into my ear before he stands and grabs my hands. We say goodbye to our friends and he ushers me to our apartment.

As soon as the door is closed behind us Tobias has his fingers laced through my hair and my mouth secured to his. I moan at the contact and the feel of his hands running through my hair.

After a minute I pull away gasping for air. “Give me a minute?”

Tobias ignores my request and kisses his way down my neck before he starts to suck on the skin where my neck meets my collarbone.

It takes all of the willpower I have to gently push him away from me. “Just a minute, I promise.”

I walk over to the dresser and pull out what I need before I go to the bathroom and close the door behind me. I change as quickly as possible, putting on the lingerie set Christina made me get the after I got back from Erudite. I pull on the black lace panties and carefully tie the bow that holds the front of the top together. I don’t look at myself and try not to think about my outfit as I open the bathroom door and see Tobias sitting on the edge of the bed.

I nervously walk over to him, my arms wrapped around my stomach as I rethink my original plan. But, as soon as I am within his reach Tobias pulls me between his spread legs. His hands roam wherever they can reach, down my legs and up the sides of my body. His mouth pushes the fabric out of the way and starts to place openmouthed kisses across my stomach.

My hands go to his hair as he continues his exploration of my stomach. Then there’s a knock at the door. My body stills and stiffens but Tobias doesn’t stop.

“Ignore it,” he mumbles into my stomach but then there is another knock.

“Beatrice?” my mother calls from the other side of the door. My eyes widen and Tobias pulls away from me. I run over to our dresser and pull out one of Tobias’ jackets and zip it all the way to my neck before I quickly pull on a pair of jeans.

I look back at Tobias who now has his body thrown back on the bed with his hands rubbing over his face. I pull him up by his arms and we answer the door, still too breathless for my liking.

“Hi. Is something wrong?” I ask as I look at my mother, father and brother standing in front of me. _What perfect timing_.

“I convinced the chef in the kitchen to let me make some bread. I wanted to give you a little something now that you’re all better, Four,” my mother holds out a plate covered in aluminum foil and Tobias takes it from her.

“That was very kind, thank you,” he says.

I look over at Caleb and see him glaring at Tobias. I never thought Caleb would be the protective type of brother. He has proven multiple times he doesn’t like Tobias being with me. His opinion stopped mattering long ago, though. “Is there a problem?”

“Because we’re all here I think we should talk. It’s obvious this guy is too old for – “

“Caleb. Their marriage is none of your concern,” my father places a comforting hand on his shoulder. My parents forgave Caleb right away for his acts of betrayal. I can barely look at him.

“You should listen to your father. You should also remember what I told you at Amity and that we’re _not at Amity_ anymore. Thank you for the bread, goodnight.”

“Goodnight,” I tell my parents before we close the door. I sigh and lean against the door as Tobias sets the bread down on the bedside table. Then his hands are under my thighs and he lifts me up. My legs automatically wrap around his waist and my arms go around his neck.

Tobias lies me down on the bed before he works on getting my jacket and jeans off. He removes his own shirt before his body covers mine. His lips kiss any exposed skin he can find and his fingers slide down my body before they reach my center.

“I missed you,” he mumbles against my skin as his hands slide my panties down my legs. One of his hands caresses my upper thigh before two fingers slowly enter me. His hand sets a slow, even pace as his other works on untying my top and removing it completely.

My hands reach down and try to remove his jeans but I fumble so much Tobias removes both of his hands from my body to remove them himself. I let out a moan of protest as he does.

Tobias quickly flips my body over onto my stomach after both of us are completely naked and pulls my knees up from underneath me. He kneels behind me and aligns his body perfectly with my own. His hands take a moment to explore the skin of my back, tracing every crevice he sees. My hands stretch out in front of me and my head digs into the sheets.

Finally I feel him at my entrance just seconds before he thrusts completely into me. We both moan at the contact before Tobias starts to set a steady rhythm for his thrusts.

Tobias leans his body over mine and his hands slide beneath my body and find my nipples to pay them equal attention. His mouth is aligned with my ear and I can hear every moan and every curse as it escapes his mouth.

He leans up again but his hands never stop exploring my skin. Everything gets to be too much for me so I start to push my body back into his. My torso rolls with every thrust back and Tobias’ hands pull my hips back harder against his.

“Tobias,” I moan out and three thrusts later my orgasm rolls through my body. Tobias pulls out of me and I’m suddenly lying on my back with Tobias’ lips making their way up my stomach before making a stop at my breasts. Once he gives them each equal attention his lips are on mine and he is inside me once again.

One of Tobias’ arms grasps my thigh and hitches it higher on his hip, causing him to hit the spot inside of me that brings me back to the edge.

“Fuck,” Tobias curses as his pace becomes too much for both of us and we erupt in our climaxes. My body slumps into the bed and seconds later I feel Tobias’ body next to mine.

Neither of us gets much sleep that night. A few hours after I fell asleep Tobias woke me up with kisses trailed down my entire body, which led to a few more hours of his skin against mine.

By the time I wake up the next morning my body more relaxed and rested than it has been in at least a week. I hadn’t been sleeping much since we invaded Abnegation, there has been too much for me to do.

I look at the clock next to our bed and realize it is already almost noon. I curse under my breath as I quickly get dressed. I don’t have time for a shower so I throw on whatever clothes my hands touch first and make my way to the training room as fast as I can.

When I open the door to the training room I’m surprised to see all of the trainees practicing, some with shooting and others with knives. I look around and see Tobias talking to one of the Abnegation girls.

“Trying to steal my job, now?” I ask as I walk over to him.

“Trying to give you some time to rest.”

“The doctor just cleared you, you shouldn’t – “ Tobias grabs my hand and pulls me away from the trainees. His hands rest on my hips and he pulls my body as close to his as he thinks is socially acceptable, which is actually too close to be socially acceptable.

Tobias leans his head down next to my ear and says, “Thank you for taking care of me, I know it wasn’t easy. But, I’m okay now. You needed some sleep so I let you sleep. Now, you’re going to find Christina, who was supposed to find you before you charged in here, and _relax_.”

“I don’t – “

“Relax.”

I sigh as I look up at him, his blue eyes locked on mine. I remember the group of trainees just a few feet away from us and decide not to fight him on this. I lean up and place a quick peck on his lips before I turn around to leave. I send a glare in Marcus’ direction, just to be safe.

Once I’m out of the training room I head down to the pit to find Christina. It only takes a few seconds for me to spot her talking with Will.

“Oh, shoot! You’re up already?” she asks, looking at her watch.

“Yup. And I got kicked out of my own training room.”

Christina quickly says goodbye to Will before she takes me back to her apartment. We make spots on the small couch they have against the wall and spend the next hour catching up on the little details we’ve ignored the past few weeks. Eventually we get to the topic of the trainees.

“I think I’ll go with Four after lunch and start showing them some fighting combinations so we can start the first fights tomorrow. I don’t know how I’m going to get a bunch of Abnegation to fight each other, though.”

“You fought.”

“I chose Dauntless and I’m Divergent. They didn’t choose this.”

“Maybe we just need to get them into the Dauntless spirit. Too bad we can’t have a game of capture the flag.”

My mind starts spinning with ideas with the mention of capture the flag, “Maybe not a traditional game,” I say with a smile before I stand and pull her out of the apartment.

We make it to the dining hall just as lunch is starting and sit where Uriah and Zeke already are.

“Whose up for a little modified game of capture the flag tonight with the trainees?” I ask them. Both of their heads immediately snap up from their food.

“What did you have in mind?” Zeke asks.

I think for a minute before I answer, “We’d have to have in indoors, obviously. What if instead of using a flag we have a person be dedicated as their ‘flag’ that they have to protect. Team that makes a kill shot on the others’ flag wins.”

Zeke and Uriah quickly look at each other before they say, “We’re in,” simultaneously.

“In, what?” Tobias asks as he appears next to me. I look around the table and notice Lynn, Marlene, Shauna, and Will have also appeared.

“We’re going to have a modified game of capture the flag tonight. Instead of hiding a flag you have to protect a certain person,” I tell him. “How about me, Four, Zeke, Uriah, Christina, Will, Lynn, Marlene, and Shauna. Nine of us versus about thirty of them should be pretty even.”

“Who’s the flag?” Tobias asks.

“Tris, obviously,” Uriah answers.

“Obviously? Why is it obviously me?” I’m met with incredulous stares from everyone around me.

“If anyone can get out of a life or death situation, even a fake one, it’s you. We may be doing this to train some Abnegation but we’re sure as hell still gonna beat them!” Uriah says, almost shouts.

I don’t like that title: the girl who can get out of life or death situations. Because, eventually, that girl isn’t going to be able to get out of one of those situations.

Tobias’ hand finds mine under the table and gives me a reassuring squeeze. I nod my head, accepting my position as our teams flag.

“You guys get the paint balls and guns and let everyone else know what’s going to happen tonight while Four and I finish with training for the day,” I tell everyone at the table before Tobias and I get up.

“Did anything happen today?” I ask him as we walk toward the training room.

Tobias shrugs his shoulders before saying, “We mutually ignored each other. It was fine.”

I sigh and look around to make sure we are alone in the hallway leading to the training room before I pull him to a stop.

“Zeke can help me, you can – “

Tobias’ arms firmly grasp my waist and he gently eases me back against the wall. The length of his body presses against mine and I can feel his warmth radiating through my clothes. My entire body relaxes with the feel of him so close to me.

“Tris, please stop worrying about me,” Tobias whispers into my ear before his lips trail kisses all the way to my lips. His plan worked, I am no longer thinking about Marcus or training or anything other than his lips moving with mine.

One of my hands grasps at the muscles on his back through his black t-shirt while the others tugs at the hair at the base of his neck. Our week of not being able to touch each other affected me more than I realized because I can’t seem to get enough of the feel of his skin on mine even after last night.

A throat clears behind Tobias and we reluctantly pull away from each other to find Caleb standing in front of us. I suppose it is our fault for stopping in the hallway in front of the training room where people will be making their way back.

“What’s your problem, Caleb?” I ask him, wanting to know why exactly he dislikes Tobias.

“You can’t trust him. His mother – “ Caleb stops, eyes wide, as if he has said something he shouldn’t have.

“What does my mother have to do with anything?” Tobias asks, his voice low and warning.

“She visited Erudite a few times after the war started. She’s working with Jeanine and said her son was part of her plan. Something about how she would get information about Dauntless’ plan.”

We’ve put the Factionless at the back of our minds the past few weeks. We wanted to focus on our plan to get the Abnegation out. Tobias sent word to his mother that we were busy but did not specify with what. No one else knew Tobias had been in contact with the Factionless and his mother, not even our fellow leaders. We had to decide what exactly we would do with them.

“I know my mother can’t be trusted. Tris said she saw her at Erudite during her stay. I’ve been a vague as I can with her since I found out. It’s best not to let her know that I know of her betrayal right now, though.”

“So, you’re not . . .” Caleb’s words trail off as he thinks about what he was about to accuse Tobias of.

“I’m not betraying my faction and my wife by working with the people who want her dead? No. You, on the other hand . . .”

I look at Caleb as he processes Tobias’ words. Ever since the war started I never saw him look guilty for the things he did to me, but I can see it in his eyes now. Maybe he realizes that the Erudite really did want me dead and not just as a test subject, maybe he finally realizes that what he did was wrong.

We don’t have time to think about that now, though. More trainees start to pass through the hall on their way to the training room.

Once we all enter the training room we show the trainees to the punching bags that they’ll be practicing with for the rest of the day.

“Tomorrow we’ll start the fights. Today you’ll just be practicing with the punching bags,” I tell them before Tobias and I step into the middle of the arena for a demonstration.

It is the same demonstration we did for the initiates what seems like so long ago. We show them simple combinations that will help them defend themselves, and give them tips on how to win in a fight.

The afternoon passes slowly. Most of the Abnegation do not take the fighting well. It makes me nervous for what tomorrow will bring when we put two of them in the arena and tell them to fight.

Maybe our game of capture the flag will encourage more of them to try harder.


	24. Chapter 24

There was a palpable buzz throughout all of the Dauntless members during dinner. Word had gotten around about our little game tonight and everyone was excited to see a little action. Not the kind of action that led to half of your faction leaving you, but the action that led to laughter and excitement.

            During dinner we all discussed our plan. Tobias would stay by me the entire time while others went out to search for the other teams flag. I considered just going to our spot at the bottom of the Chasm, but that would be too easy.

            By the time we were done with dinner most of the trainees had already left and were getting ready for bed. We agreed we would wait a while longer so most of them would be asleep when we announced the game. 

            Everyone went back to their apartments to change before the game started. I found a long sleeved scoop neck t-shirt and put that on, keeping on my black jeans and boots. Tobias put on a similar outfit to mine. He grabbed my hand and we left to meet everyone near the Chasm.

            “Uriah and Zeke will go get the supplies, everyone else will get the trainees. Meet here again and we’ll head to the training room together,” I tell everyone and they immediately go off to do their jobs. The trainees are scattered throughout the compound so we decided the easiest plan would be to just bang on the doors and shout for them to go to the training room. Hopefully none of them were heavy sleepers.

            “Trainees! Training room in ten minutes!” I shout down a hallway as Tobias and I start walking past doors and giving them a few solid knocks before moving on to the next one.

            Ten minutes later we were all back near the Chasm, Uriah and Zeke both hauling the containers full of paintballs and paintball guns. I’m pleased when we enter the training room to find everyone there. Most of them still look like they’re half asleep but at least they came.

            No one says anything as Uriah and Zeke drop the supplies in the room. All of us form a line facing the trainees.

            “You should all know Four and Zeke already. This is Uriah, Christina, Will, Marlene, Shauna, and Lynn.” I point to each of my friends as I say their names. “We’ll all be playing a little game tonight. Usually at this stage in training we play a game of capture the flag down by the pier, but it isn’t safe to go out so we changed it up a bit. 

            “All of you will be a team, and we’ll be a team. You will designate one person to be your flag. The objective is to make a kill shot – torso or head, limbs don’t count – using a paintball gun on the opposing teams flag. Any questions so far?”

            “A group of trained Dauntless versus a bunch of Abnegation and Amity doesn’t seem very fair,” Caleb mutters, just loud enough for us to hear but not loud enough to sound very confident in his statement.

            “There are almost thirty of you and eight of us. That’s as fair as it’s going to get. We’ll give you a few minutes to decide who your flag will be,” the rest of us head toward the supplies and get some paintballs and a gun.

            “No Ferris wheel to climb up this time,” Christina teases me as we get ourselves situated.

            “No, no Ferris wheel,” I laugh. Tobias hands me a gun and some paintballs. I get my weapons situated, as does everyone else. A few minutes later we’re back to standing in front of the trainees.

            “Well, who is your flag?” I ask them. Marcus steps forward. Lovely.

            “Your flag?” he asks us. I hate how superior he always tries to come across. No matter what he says or who he is saying it too he always has to be in control. Always has to be the one on top.

            “Tris,” Tobias says firmly. His arm snakes its way up my back, rubbing soothing circles into my skin. Marcus huffs at the news that I am the flag.

            “Is there a problem?” Zeke asks with an edge to his voice. This is one of the first times he has been around Marcus since he found out about his relationship with Tobias.

            “She’s already – “

            “Be careful what you say about my wife,” Tobias tells his father, looking directly at him. It is my turn to comfort him as I grab his hand that had slid off of my back and give it a reassuring squeeze.

            “You have five minutes to do whatever you want to do before we start looking. Hide, run, whatever. Once we leave this room the game starts and the first team to shoot the others flag wins.”

            They immediately start to file out of the room. My mother winks at me as she leaves with my father and Caleb. I sigh and lean my back against the wall behind me once they are all gone.

            “Upset you’ll have to spend some time with me while I protect you for the next hour?” Tobias asks with an easy smirk on his face. I’m surprised at his good mood after the interaction with his father.

            “Just tired. Of everything,” I shrug my shoulders. There is nothing we can do about that, at least not now. Tobias knows that, too, and simply kisses my forehead.

            “Time to go! You guys have any plan?” Zeke asks, looking at Tobias and I.

            “Move around, never stay in one place too long. Try to make this a quick game, okay?” Tobias tells him. Zeke’s answering smile is contagious. This is what Dauntless is about.

            Thirty minutes later it is obvious the trainees either got lost somewhere or are even more unprepared that we thought. Tobias and I are sitting in the tattoo parlor, completely exposed. We’ve heard a few shots around the area, but haven’t seen anyone from our team, yet.

            Suddenly the sound of feet running toward us pulls us to our feet. Tobias carefully walks in front of me as we try to look around the corner to see who is coming.

            We peak around the corner and see our group running toward us, smiles on their faces.

            “We won!” Zeke shouts and Tobias and I come out from the tattoo parlor. Zeke suddenly grabs me and slings me over his shoulder, spinning around. I can’t help the giant smile that covers my face.

           

~.~.~

 

            I wake up the next morning with a grunt of exhaustion. I force myself up and make my way to the shower. I try to be as quite as possible because Tobias is still asleep. He doesn’t have to be in the control room for a few more hours.

            I get dressed quickly in a black tank top and jeans. I place a soft kiss on Tobias’ lips, careful not to wake him, before I make my way out of the door.

            I enter the training room and instruct everyone to spend a few more minutes practicing on the punching bags while I work on an order for the fights. Because these will be their first fights I try to make the pairs as even as possible, taking into account everyone’s progress so far as well as their size. I’m still skeptical that these people will actually fight each other. I don’t know what we’ll do if they don’t.

            I hang the chalkboard with the order of the fights and call the first two up. It is a man who is probably thirty years old. He has a decent build and has put on a little bit of muscle since he has been here. I paired him with another man who seems to be around the same age, but is not as muscular.

            “We just . . . fight?”

            “Yes. You fight until the one of you can’t anymore, or one of you gives up.”

            I look at the two of them. Both of them look hesitant and neither wants to make the first punch. I keep waiting though, thinking eventually one of them will.

After three minutes of them standing there while they stare at each other my anger starts to rise.

“You’re done,” I say and motion for them to go stand back with the others. I step up onto the arena and look at everyone.

“We’re in the middle of a _war_. You should all know that better than most. Erudite trapped you in your homes for weeks. Like it or not, you need to know how to defend yourself if you are going to invade Erudite with us. Staring at someone is not going to be very helpful!” I shout and try to think of a way to show them that they can fight, even if they are from Abnegation.

“Marcus. Come up here,” I say evenly. Marcus stares at me for a few seconds before he complies.

“I don’t know if your problem is that you don’t think you can fight because you’re Abnegation, or if it is that you don’t want to fight because you’re Abnegation. Whatever it is, you need to get over it.

“Marcus, I know you have no problem harming others, so I thought you would help me out with a little demonstration.” I say and see the fire ignite in his eyes. I know Tobias would be furious about what I am doing, but I can’t help it. I have wanted to punch this man and cause him as much pain as possible ever since Tobias took me through his fear landscape. Now is my chance.

Nothing else needs to be said. Marcus immediately starts to circle me and my feet start to move to counter his movements. I study him for a few seconds. I know he has more body mass and muscle than me, but he doesn’t know what to do with it. That is my advantage in this fight.

He starts to lunge for me and I twist my body out of the way before I land an elbow in his side. He drops his left shoulder showing me that he is about to throw a punch and I manage to block it and then land a solid punch of my own to the left side of his face.

His hands grab my arms and toss me on the ground, but I am quick to kick his feet out from under his before I jump back to my feet. I place a few too many kicks to his stomach before I stop.

“If I can go from Abnegation to Dauntless, then you can. You _will_ fight. Tomorrow is your last chance. Anyone pulls anything like that again tomorrow and you’ll be sent to Amity. You’re done for the day.”

I watch as everyone starts to file out of the training room. I notice Marcus slowly stand and wince as he moves. I fail to hide my smirk at that. He makes a show of testing his movements, procrastinating while everyone else leaves.

“You’re not a very smart girl, are you?” he asks as he walks over to me. He is trying to intimidate me, but his slight limp makes sure that doesn’t happen.

“You’re not a very smart man, either.”

“You don’t know what’s really going on here. You have no idea what is truly at stake in this. You aren’t fit to lead anything!” his anger boils over and I start to turn to leave. One of his hands clamps down on my shoulder and turns me back around to face him before is other connects with the left side of my face.

I stagger back a few steps, shocked and the impact left behind. One of my hands reaches up and tenderly touches the area he hit. I can already tell a nice bruise will be forming soon.

My fists clench but before I can retaliate Uriah and Zeke enter the training room.

“What’s going on here?” Zeke asks but Marcus simply mutters under his breath before leaving quickly.

“Tris?” I look up at him and he can see the bruise starting to form. Zeke opens his mouth to say something else but I beat him to it.

“Do _not_ tell him. You don’t tell anybody, understand?”

“Tell who?” Uriah asks.

“Four. Nothing happened, don’t tell him anything.”

“Don’t tell me what?” Tobias asks as he swings the door to the training room open. He looks around at the three of us in the room, his eyes searching for some kind of clue as to what secret we are keeping. Eventually, his eyes land on my face.

“Who did that to you?” Tobias’ voice is cold and hard.

“Four . . .”

“Tris! Who did that to you?” His voice is closer to a shout now.

“Marcus,” my voice is a soft whisper as his name escapes my lips. I hear Zeke gasp, realizing what Marcus hitting me will mean to Tobias. Uriah is still confused.

Tobias immediately goes rigid and turns to leave the training room.

“Four! You can’t – “ I grab his shoulder but he quickly shoves my hand off of him.

“No! He’s not going to get away with this. Not with you.”

“Everyone will know,” I whisper to him.

“I don’t care,” is the last thing he says before he storms out of the training room.

I shoot a pointed look at Zeke before I quickly follow the sound of Tobias’ footsteps toward the dining hall.

“Four!” I shout, trying to distract him long enough to reason with him but he continues into the crowded dining hall and finds Marcus sitting with a group of Abnegation. I stop at the entrance and watch as Tobias pulls Marcus up to his feet and away from the table knowing that there is nothing I can do to stop this now.

“I told you not to go near her!” Tobias shouts at his father before he pushes him down on the ground in the middle of the room. The conversations that flowed easily just a few seconds ago suddenly stop and everyone stares at Tobias.

Tobias leans down and whispers something to Marcus. I see Marcus’ lips moving as he says something to Tobias before I see Tobias’ arm reach back and land a solid hit to Marcus’ face. Then he stands and starts to undo his belt.

“This is for your own good.” Is the last thing he says before he starts to pull the belt back then fling it forward, landing on various spots on Marcus each time.

I tentatively walk forward after a few minutes of this. “Tobias,” I whisper before placing a careful hand on his shoulder. His movements stop and he glares at me. I ignore his anger and grab his arm and start to lead him out of the dining hall.

Tobias says nothing as we make our way to our apartment. I can’t decide if his silence is a good thing or a bad thing. After Tobias slams our door once we’re in our apartment I decide it’s a bad thing.

“What the _hell_ were you thinking?” he shouts at me. We’ve had a few little fights throughout the year we’ve been together, but we’ve never had a full out screaming match. It seems that’s about to change, though.

“I didn’t do anything wrong, Tobias.” I try to keep my voice as even and calm as possible but I don’t know how long I’ll be able to keep it up with him shouting at me.

“You fought Marcus! You don’t see anything wrong with that?”

“I tried to get the trainees to fight but they wouldn’t start. I just gave them a demonstration – “

“You could have chosen anyone. You shouldn’t have chosen – “

“Why not? Why can’t I hate him?” My desire to try and stay calm is long forgotten as my voice rises to a shout.

“You don’t – “

“I don’t get to hate the man who abused you for sixteen years? I don’t get to hate him just as much as you do after seeing him in your fear landscape?”

“I don’t need you to protect me from my fears. I did just fine before you came along.”

“So, these mean nothing now?” I hold up my wrist with IV tattooed on it. The tattoo that I thought meant his fears were mine, and mine were his. That meant we protected each other. I see his shoulders slump. Tobias opens his mouth to say something but I cut him off. “Forget it.”

I turn and make my way out of the apartment as fast as I can. There are a few people wandering the halls that give me funny stares but I just ignore them. As I am passing through the Pit Christina stops me and pulls me into a corner.

“Are you okay?” she asks.

I shrug my shoulders, not really knowing the answer.

“So . . .”

“Marcus Eaton is Four’s father. They don’t exactly have the best relationship if you couldn’t tell.”

“Wow. I didn’t see that coming . . . Are you and Four okay?”

“Not exactly. I don’t really want to talk about it right now. I’ll see you later, okay?” I don’t wait for her answer before I walk away. The only place I can think of to go and get some quiet is our spot at the bottom of the Chasm. I figure it’s safe enough since Tobias is most likely still at our apartment.

I make it to the bottom of the Chasm and finally let my mind wander.

I know I probably shouldn’t have fought Marcus. I couldn’t help it though. After all of the things I know he did to Tobias, and even all of the other things I don’t know about, I couldn’t take it anymore. I couldn’t take the smug smiles and the thought that he got away clean.

I’m glad Tobias finally stood up to his father. Part of me is also glad it was in such a public place. For one, now that everyone probably knows what Marcus did they also know that Tobias has overcome it. He is no longer just the Abnegation boy who ran away from home to escape his father. He is the Dauntless leader who stood up for himself and people here will respect that, whereas they would see him a coward if he never stood up and fought back.

I’m so lost in my thoughts that I don’t hear the footsteps that I’m sure he took to take his place next to me. I only feel his hand as he reaches for him and intertwines our fingers.

“I’m sorry.”

I sigh and look up. I study Tobias’ face. I take in his hooked nose and ears that stick out too far and end up at his eyes. The blue eyes that stare at me as if they can read my every thought.

“I didn’t realize you would hate him as much as I do. I only thought about how much _I_ hated him. I just can’t have him hurting you like he hurt me. I _won’t_ let it happen.”

“I know.” I say and my hand tightens around his. My other arm wraps around his strong one. I lean my head against his shoulder and let out a sigh.

“This will be over soon and we’ll be able to just . . . _be_ , right?” I whisper to him. I feel his chin come to rest on the top of my head before he answers me.

“We’ll be fine. I promise.”

 

~.~.~

 

“Do you really think this will work?”

All of the leaders have spent the last two days locked up in this conference room. Christina and Will took over training for two reasons. One, both Tobias and I were needed for these meetings. And, two, neither of us wanted to do it anymore after the Marcus incident. They didn’t have much to do, anyway. All of the actual training was done, they just had to supervise the fights and give any last minute advice to help them improve.

We’ve gone over a lot the past two days. Eric has been executed. The other two Dauntless traitors are still imprisoned. They were put under Truth Serum to see if they had any valuable information but didn’t know much. Now, we’re onto our final plan to invade Erudite.

“I think it’s the best we can do.” Tori responds to my question. It seems like we finally have a plan on how to invade Erudite.

Caleb offered up some information about the layout of the main Erudite building as well as any weaknesses he thought might help us. He told us that the roof was probably the biggest weakness. There was access to the building via a door at the top that was scarcely guarded. Why would it need to be guarded, anyway? Most people wouldn’t be stupid enough to attempt and gain access through the roof. Except for us.

Caleb has a friend on the inside, Oliver. Caleb said he was trustworthy, that he wanted to help bring down Erudite. He told us that Oliver only stayed there so that he could try and get some kind of useful information about Erudite’s plans and then eventually try and escape. We have no choice but to trust him.

Caleb will be able to send Oliver a message from our computers that, according to Tobias, shouldn’t be detected by anyone other than those who have access to Oliver’s account. Only Oliver should have access to his account.

We’ll make our way to the roof of the closest non-Erudite building. Oliver will be waiting on the roof to toss us a rope. We’ll have these special clamps that will help us actually climb the rope all the way up to the roof of the building.

Only a small group of people will be entering through the roof. Once they’ve made it up they will be searching for Jeanine who will, hopefully, be taken to custody right away. I saw the look Tori had when we decided to do this and I know she’ll attempt to kill Jeanine during the attack.

After the team enters the roof the rest of us will enter through the front to try and get the rest of the building under Dauntless control. The hope is that once we have Jeanine the rest of Erudite and traitor Dauntless will surrender.

After a heated discussion it is decided that I will head the team entering through the roof. The main reason being my size, it will be easier for smaller people to make their way across the rope and to the roof. Tobias was the only one who objected and I know he’ll keep trying to talk me out of it.

I’ll have Christina, Lynn, and Caleb with me. Caleb insisted on being part of the team going up through the roof because it is mostly happening because of his connections at Erudite. I’m still not happy with it, though.

The rest of the leaders will be in charge of various teams entering on the ground level. We’re putting all of our people into this attack. If it all goes wrong Erudite will have won everything.

“What about the Factionless?” Zeke asks and I can feel Tobias tense next to me.

The Factionless are going to be a problem. We managed to convince them that we didn’t tell them about our Abnegation invasion because we only wanted to send in a small group and wanted to have enough people left, should something go wrong. I don’t know if Evelyn would have believed us if it hadn’t been Tobias telling her the lie.

“We know Evelyn can’t be trusted. I think our best bet it so not tell them anything for now and deal with their reactions after.” Tori answers. _After_. What happens after?

“What are we going to do after?” I ask.

“After?” Harrison questions.

“If this all works. What happens then?”

“The way I see it, we have two options. We can either try and restore the faction system, or abolish it completely. Try living in a world with no factions. Elect a group of leaders everyone trusts and hope for some kind of balance to work out.”

“We should vote, between us, which we choose. Factions or freedom.” Zeke says, but his tone gives away his vote already. The way he almost spit out the word factions.

“Okay then, lets vote,” Tobias starts, “I vote freedom.”

I take a deep breath. The thought of a world without factions is terrifying; it’s the only thing we’ve ever known. It is also exciting and almost seems like a dream. “Freedom.” I say.

 After Tori, Harrison, and Zeke vote we have a unanimous conclusion.

 _Freedom_.

 

~.~.~

 

“As you all know, our plan has always been to invade Erudite when the right time came.” Tori’s voice rings through the dining hall as the leaders stand before everyone else.

As soon as the words are out of Tori’s mouth the tension in the room intensifies. This is the moment everyone has been waiting for. The moment we fight back.

“We’ve got a plan. You’ll be split into groups and your leader will fill you in on the specifics. Groups will be posted in the Pit after dinner.”

As soon as we step down everyone starts talking. Speculating about what the plan is, or who is on whose team. Even the Abnegation and Amity look curious.

Right when Tobias, Zeke and I sit at our table all eyes are on us.

“Well? What are the teams? What’s the plan?” Christina asks. She almost looks like she is bouncing in her seat she is so full of energy.

I look at her for a second and try to decide if I should let her suffer through dinner without knowing she’s on my team or to just let her know now.

“I’ll tell you everything once we’ve split up into our teams.”

At first she slumps into her chair, not realizing what I said.

“So, I’m on your team?”

The only answer I give her is a small smile.

 

~.~.~

 

Me, Christina, Lynn, and Caleb are sitting at a table in the corner of the dining hall. Everyone has broken up into their teams and are learning about their roles for the attack.

“We’re going in a week. Most people are entering in through the front, but we’ve got a special assignment. Caleb has a friend on the inside who will help us get to the roof.”

“Why are we going in through the roof while everyone else goes in through the front?”

“From what we’ve seen they have a lot of traitor Dauntless guards at the front, more than when I left. We think they might be under a simulation and will shoot without thinking. Going in through the front will undoubtedly lead to causalities. Us going in through the roof shouldn’t be that dangerous.”

My stomach turns as the words come out of my mouth. Tobias and his team are entering through the front. My parents are entering through the front.

“We have a special mission. Our job is to get Jeanine. Tori has some . . . issues with Jeanine and I have no doubt that she is going to try something, anything, to kill Jeanine herself. So, watch out for her.”

I tell them more about how we’ll be getting to the roof and what little information we know about what else is going on at Erudite. It’s not much, but hopefully it’s enough to get us through the attack alive.


	25. Chapter 25

The following week goes by much too fast for my liking. Most of our time is spent with our teams. We train and go over possible situations we could find ourselves in. Because my team entering through a different area than most we’re never really with anyone but each other. 

I try my hardest to stay mad at Caleb for everything that he has done to me. But after spending so much time together, I am starting to tell how much he regrets his actions. He apologizes to me daily and is constantly trying to help us figure out ways to make this attack as smooth as possible. How can I stay mad at him when he is trying to hard to protect my family and my faction?

The downside of the constant time spent with my team is that I only see Tobias during meals and before we collapse into bed together, too exhausted from the day to say more than a few words to each other.

It is the day before we are set to attack Erudite and the incessant ring of the alarm wakes me up. My hands fumble around with it on our small table next to bed until I give up and just swipe it so it falls to the ground. Thankfully, once it crashes to the floor the sound stops.

I feel the bed behind me shake with Tobias’ laughs. I spin around and wrap myself around him as close as possible. Our legs quickly become tangled and my face is pressed into the crevice of his neck.

After a few minutes of comfortable silence I whisper, “Do you think this will work?”

Tobias sighs and thinks for a few moments before he answers. “I think it has the potential to work, yes. Once we’ve got Jeanine I think the rest of Erudite will be easy to stop and see reason.”

“So you’re saying that the fate of our city rests on whether my team accomplishes our mission or not? No pressure.”

I feel more than hear the deep laugh that shakes Tobias’ body. I press my body even closer to his just to try and feel more of his skin against mine.

“You’ll get the job done.”

“We’ll see.”

The warm quilt is suddenly thrown off of my body. I make a sound of protest before I reach for it. Before my hand can wrap around the quilt my body is lifted off of the bed and Tobias has me thrown over his shoulder.

“Um. Excuse me,” is all I manage as Tobias walks me over to our bathroom. My feet finally hit the floor and I look up and see Tobias smiling down at me. He says nothing as he turns on the shower and starts to remove my clothing.

 

~.~.~

 

A few hours later we find ourselves situated comfortably in Zeke and Uriah’s apartment surrounded by our friends. I am situated comfortably against Tobias as we sit on the couch with Christina and Will next to us.

We’ve spent the afternoon doing absolutely nothing of importance and it has been spectacular. Spending time not worrying about what the future holds is just what we needed. For the most part I am able to forget about everything. But then I look around the room at all of my friends.

I see Lynn and Marlene laughing in the corner at something Uriah said. I see Will whispering something to Christina that makes her laugh. I see Zeke toss his arm around Shauna’s shoulders with a big smile on his face. Then I look up at Tobias. I see the tattoo that covers his back peaking up through the neck of his t-shirt. I see the small smile on his face as he talks to Zeke. And I can’t take it. _What if this is the last day I see some of these people alive?_

I detach myself from Tobias and make my way out of the room as quickly as possible. I can feel my breathing start to pick up and my ears are suddenly ringing. I make it around a corner before I have to lean my back against the wall for support. My legs start to lower me to the ground when Tobias finds me.

“What’s – “ he doesn’t have to finish his questions though. As soon as he looks at me and sees the tears threatening to spill out of my eyes he knows.

“How can everyone be so calm? Tomorrow we’re – people could – “ Tobias’ arms are wrapped around me then. So tight it is like they are holding me together when I feel like I am falling apart.

“Please don’t leave me. Please don’t leave me all alone.” I sob into his shoulder.

“Never. I’ll never leave you.”

 

~.~.~

 

I wake up and press my body even closer to Tobias. I can tell it is too early to even think about getting up, probably around one or two in the morning. I know I won’t be able to get to sleep anytime soon, though. I was lucky to fall asleep at all, earlier.

My fingers start to trace the warm skin of Tobias’ back while I try to relax. It helps calm me a little, but not enough to actually fall asleep.

I start to place light kisses across Tobias’ chest before making my way up to his neck. I spend some time there before I make it to his lips.

“Tobias,” I whisper. I didn’t realize how desperate my voice would sound.

His eyes pop open so fast that I know he has been awake for at least the last few minutes of my ministrations. His eyes look down at me and their normal dark blue seem almost black in the dim light.

Now that I know he is awake I don’t hesitate to press my lips to his. My kiss is frantic and needy but I don’t care.

Tobias rolls onto his back and brings my body with him, situating me on top of him. His hands make quick work of the large t-shirt I have on and then gently trace up and down my back. The feel of his fingertips along my skin create goose bumps all over me.

My hands fumble beneath me to try and rid Tobias of his clothing but don’t make much progress. “Off,” I mumble against his lips. Tobias quickly gets the remainder of our clothing out of the way.

I am suddenly on my back with Tobias resting above me, his weight resting on his elbows on either side of my head. His lips meet mine in a sweet, soft kiss as he slowly enters me.

His rhythm is soft and slow and perfect. My arms wrap around his back and my head burrows into his neck. With each thrust my fingers tighten their grip on his until my hands are straining with the effort.

“I love you,” Tobias whispers into my ear as his thrusts become more erratic and suddenly my climax takes over my body.

By the time I can move again Tobias has moved to lie next to me. One of his arms wrap around me as I situate myself next to him.

“I love you, too,” I mumble before I finally fall asleep.

 

~.~.~

 

Everyone is ready, or at least as ready as they’ll ever be. We’ve all gathered in the pit, similar to how we gathered before the Abnegation invasion. Everyone, including the Abnegation and Amity trainees, are wearing Dauntless black.

Tobias and I enter and I immediately go to find my parents while Tobias talks to his team. He’s with Will and Uriah and a few others. Zeke is the reason Uriah is with Tobias; he said he was the only one he trusted to look after him.

My mother says nothing as she pulls me in for an embrace. I squeeze her back before I turn to my father and hug him as well.

“Everything will work out,” I say to them but I am saying it more to comfort myself. I know everything won’t be okay. Not everyone in this room will make it back.

“Yes, it will,” my mother says with a soft smile on her face. One of her hands comes up and cups my cheek. “We’re very proud of you, Beatrice.”

My eyes shift from my mother’s face to my father’s. Both of them are smiling down at me with pride radiating out of their eyes.

“I love you,” I tell them both before I throw my arms around both of them one last time.

A few minutes later everyone is broken up into their teams. Christina, Lynn, and Caleb surround me. We’re the smallest team. Nobody but the leaders and us know that we have a separate mission, so we get a few curious stares from the others.

We jump into the train that will be taking us to the Abnegation sector. My team will get off there to head to the building we need to get to while the others ride for a while longer to get closer to Erudite before jumping off.

As soon as everyone in our car is settled Tobias pulls me over to a corner of the car. This car only has our two teams on it so it is fairly empty.

My back hits the cool metal of the train before Tobias places himself in front of me. My arms wrap around him and my head buries itself into his neck. That is how we spend a majority of the train ride until we see the Abnegation sector approaching.

“Everything will be fine,” I mumble to myself as I force my arms to drop from around Tobias.

“Everything will be fine,” he repeats to me. Both of Tobias’ hands cup my face and his lips press into mine. It is a kiss full of passion and love and promise. Promise of a better tomorrow after all of this is done.

“I’ll see you soon,” I tell him

“See you soon.”

“Let’s go!” I shout to my team before we start to jump. I look back at Tobias one more time before I jump off of the train after them.

“This way,” I tell them before we start making our way through the empty Abnegation sector. The sun is just starting to set as we make it to our building. It is one of the closest to the main Erudite building, but a good 10 stories shorter than it.

Once we get to the roof I look over at the Erudite building, trying to find Oliver. I don’t see him yet but I know we are a few minutes early then our scheduled time.

When I start to pace Lynn steps right in front of me, halting my movements.

“I don’t know why you’re so nervous. One way or another, this will all be over in a matter of hours. That’s a good thing, right?” Lynn tells me.

I never thought of it like that. One way or another, this will all be over soon. All I’ve wanted since that first night in Erudite was for all of this to be over.

I take a deep breath before I answer her, “You’re right, I – “

“There he is,” Caleb says and points to the roof of the Erudite building.

I look up and see a figure standing up on the roof. We wait a few more minutes until a rope is suddenly thrown across the roof and lands perfectly in front of us.

“Impressive,” Christina mutters.

“He transferred from Dauntless,” Caleb tells us.

Christina works on securing the rope to this building while each of us pull out our special clamps and get ready to climb. We’ll have to wrap our legs around the rope and use our arms to pull ourselves up.

“Caleb, you first. So Oliver knows he can trust us,” I tell him and motion to the rope. Only one of us will go across at once, so the rope doesn’t snap under too much weight.

I watch Caleb’s movements carefully. Once he makes it to the other side Oliver helps him up and I see them shake hands and then motion for the next one to start. Lynn steps forward and starts to make her way across.

“So. This is it,” Christina says from her spot next to me.

“It’s not like we’re dying, Christina. We’ll be fine. Like Lynn said, it will all be over in a few hours.”

“Well aren’t you little miss optimist now.”

“I really do think this plan will work. It’s just a lot to take in,” I shrug.

“Yeah, I know. You’re good at this though, you know. Being in charge and looking out for everyone.”

“Lucky for you you’re on my team then, huh?”

Christina laughs and nudges me with her shoulder. I look back up and notice Lynn has just reached the Erudite headquarters roof.

“Your turn,” I tell Christina and watch as she starts her climb.

I get both of my clamps ready in my hands as I watch Christina make her way carefully across the rope. Once she’s on the other roof I start. It takes a lot of upper-body strength but overall it isn’t too hard.

I drop my clamps on the ground when I reach the Erudite roof.

“Now, the fun part begins,” I mumble under my breath. I look around and see Oliver. He’s tall, probably almost six feet with shaggy blonde hair. I hold my hand out for him. “I’m Tris. Thanks for your help.”

“No problem,” he says as his hand gently squeezes mine. That’s when the first gunshot rings out. We all make our way over to the edge of the roof and look down to see a herd of black covered bodies making their way into the building.

“Let’s go. Remember, Jeanine is our _only_ mission. Nothing else.” I tell my team.

Oliver stays on the roof while we enter the door that leads us to a stairwell. We take quiet, calm steps as we make our way down so that we don’t alert anyone who may be lingering in the stairwells that we’re here.

“Here we are,” Caleb says as we reach the floor where Jeanine’s office is located. I peak my head out the door and look both ways down the hall. I don’t see anyone so we all enter the hall.

“This way,” Caleb says as he makes a right and leads us down the hall to another door.

“This is her personal lab. This is where I would assume she would be,” Caleb says as he starts to open the door. “There’s some pretty heavy security around. Simulations and – “ his voice cuts off as he sees an ordinary looking lab in front of him, with Jeanine nowhere to be found.

“Well, where else would she be?” I ask him, panic starting to rise in my voice as the gunshots in the background start to get louder and louder.

“I don’t – maybe in the main lab downstairs?” Caleb asks as if any of us would have a better suggestion.

“Let’s go, then. Stairwell?” I ask Caleb. Once he nods I carefully open the door and look both ways to make sure no one else is out there before I lead everyone back to the stairwell we were just in.

We make our way down as quietly as possible. All of us freeze when we suddenly hear a door a few levels below us open and close.

“She’s here somewhere and we need her either disposed of or locked up. Jeanine is working on what she says will be the simulation that will work on the Divergent. Then, with the Abnegation out of the way, the Factionless will control the government.”

I look at the three people behind me and hold my hands up, telling them to stay where they are as I carefully lean over the banister to look down and see who is there.

Evelyn. Of course. She’s been leading the Factionless ever since she faked her death and left Abnegation. Has she been working with Jeanine since the beginning under the illusion that Jeanine will let her and the Factionless run the government? I may not like Jeanine but I know she’s not _that_ stupid.

The one surprise I see, though, is Edward. The same Edward that Peter stabbed in the eye with a butter knife, the one whose blood I had to clean up off of the floor. Apparently now he’s Evelyn’s go-to boy.

The only real question left is the ‘she’ Evelyn has Edward looking for.

I turn back to my team and look at Christina. “Edward,” I quietly mouth to her. She’s probably the only one out of all of them who would know who he is. Her burrows furrow at the name.

I hear a door slam and look back down at where Evelyn and Edward were standing and see an empty space now.

“Well, things just got more interesting,” I tell them.

“They’re looking for you. We need to be more careful,” Caleb says.

“Me? How do you know?”

“You’re the ‘she’ they were talking about. Your Divergence is stronger than anyone Jeanine has ever seen. She’s got some strange fascination with you. She’ll either want you dead or want you to run more tests.”

I think about that for a moment. Wondering if this will make our mission even more dangerous but I decide there is nothing I can do about that now. “Let’s keep moving.”

We continue moving quickly but quietly down the flights of stairs before Caleb stops us.

“This is it. Its one giant lab, so once we open this door Jeanine, if she’s in there, will know we’re here.”

I nod. “Okay. I’ll go first, Lynn you go right, and Christina left. Caleb, stay behind me. Remember, we’re just taking Jeanine into custody.”

I take a deep breath before I quickly open the door with my gun at the ready. My eyes quickly scan the room and find Jeanine standing at a table surrounded by test tubes and other supplies. Her appearance is nothing like the woman I remember from my time at Erudite. She looks disheveled and like she hasn’t had a decent nights sleep in days.

“Clear!” I hear both Christina and Lynn shout.

“How do you do it? How?” Jeanine shouts at me. Her eyes are wild and frantic. I’m surprised she doesn’t have any guards around her. I would have thought she would have constant protection around herself.

“It’s not a choice Jeanine, it just happens,” I say, knowing what she’s talking about without any further explanation. I’m hoping that if I play this the right way Jeanine will come with us, almost willingly.

“No! There’s something you’re not telling me! Something about _you_ that makes it so the simulations – “

“I’m Divergent. You know that.”

“There’s more and you’re not telling – “

“Beatrice Prior. Just the girl I was looking for,” Evelyn’s cold voice echoes throughout the open lab as she makes her way over to us with her own gun aimed at me. There must be another entrance on the other side of the room.

“It’s Eaton now, actually,” I tell her. I keep my gun trained on Jeanine. Evelyn is not my mission.

I hear Evelyn’s soft gasp at my admission. She must not have known Tobias and I got married.

“You’ve caused quite a few problems for us, Beatrice. With you out of the way and Jeanine . . . like this I’ll be able to fix this city and restore it to how it should be. Make Factionless something to be proud of,” restore the factions and the mind control. That can’t happen. I won’t let that happen.

“I don’t know if your son would appreciate you killing his wife,” Christina says from my right. I take a quick glance in her direction and notice that she has her gun trained on Evelyn. In those few seconds when I look at Christina I hear a shot ring out in the air and then I feel the pain start to spread.


	26. Chapter 26

**CHRISTINA**

 

            Seconds after Evelyn shoots I have a bullet in her leg. She tries to run away but doesn’t get far before she apparently passes out from the pain. Lynn takes care of Jeanine. She’s got her handcuffed and sits her down on one of the stools in the lab.

            “Tris!” I hear Caleb shout and look around for them. I look down and see Caleb hovering over Tris while blood starts to pool around her.

            “No,” I say before I kneel down next to them. Once I’m closer I see Caleb isn’t just looking at her, shouting after his dying sister. He’s got his hands covering the bullet wound trying to slow the bleeding.

            “Lynn! Go up one floor. On the first door to the left there will be medical supplies. Bring everything you can that will help slow the bleeding down here. Gauze, towels, anything. Now!” Caleb shouts. I didn’t spend much time around him while he was at Dauntless the past few weeks but I’ve never heard him this upset before.

            Lynn immediately does as Caleb says and runs back to the staircase. Tris seems to be going in and out of consciousness. I look at where the bullet hit her and realize it’s a miracle she’s not already dead. It is so close to her heart. Too close.

            “Tobias . . .” Tris mutters as her eyes flutter open. Her breaths are shallow and it’s obvious she’s in an immense amount of pain. “Tell him . . .”

            “You love him. He knows. But, you’ll be able to tell him yourself. Caleb will fix you right up,” I tell her and try to put a smile on my face. I’m not sure the smile does much good with tears running down my face, though.

            “You don’t get to die, Tris. You’re my best friend, you don’t die,” I squeeze her hand gently until Lynn comes running back in with her hands full of supplies. I’m surprised to see Uriah run in after her with supplies in his hands, too. They both dump everything next to Caleb and he looks at it for a few seconds before he tells us what to do next.

            “Christina, do you see that vile with the pink liquid in it? Fill a syringe about half way full of it and inject Tris with it, okay?”

            I do what Caleb says and once the pink liquid is in Tris’ system her body relaxes into the ground.

            “No! Is she – “

            “It’s an anesthetic. It just put her to sleep and made it so she can’t feel any pain.” Caleb removes his hands from the bullet wound and blood starts to run again. “Uriah, same floor as the supplies. Three doors down on the left is a cooler where blood is stored. Bring down as many bags of type O negative as you can. The code is 4-4-8-6-7 to open the door.” Caleb wipes his hands with a towel that was in the supplies brought in and puts gloves on his hands.

            The sound of open gunfire brings me out of my thoughts. I look up and see Evelyn still on the floor and Jeanine slumped over in the corner. Caleb must sense my thoughts because next he says, “There’s a phone on the wall next to the door. Punch in 1-1-5-9 and it will project what you say throughout the entire compound.”

            I go over to the phone and punch in the code Caleb said before I say, “Everyone stop! We have Jeanine Matthews and Evelyn Eaton in custody,” when I say Evelyn’s name Lynn goes over and handcuffs her, too. “Erudite and the Factionless have lost. All Dauntless leaders please come to the twelfth floor lab. Any experienced Erudite medical personal please come as well.”

            Uriah enters just as I finish talking and gives Caleb the blood. He’s gotten the bleeding to slow and is now working on getting some blood back into Tris, I think. I look at the blood surrounding her and realize that this is probably the best he can do while she’s lying on the floor of a lab.

            There is a sudden knocking at the door. I quickly walk over and see two Erudite members standing there. They look relieved that the fighting is over and eager to help clean up the mess their faction has caused. They came with supplies, too. One of them is pushing a stretcher with a bag on top of it.

            I pull Uriah out of the door with me and close it behind us. The leaders should be here soon and I don’t think Four running in there would be very helpful to Tris’ health.

            “So, we get to tell Four that his wife is in there lying in a pool of her own blood?” Uriah asks, trying to make light of the situation but when his voice cracks on the last word it has the opposite effect.

            “The best part is that it was his mother that shot her,” I tell him.

            The sound of footsteps coming down the stairs draws our attention and then Tori, Zeke, and Four are standing in front of us.  Zeke immediately walks over to Uriah and gives him a brotherly hug.

            “Harrison?” I ask even though I already know the answer. All of them shake their heads.

            “Where is she?” Four asks, his eyes meeting mine. I don’t know that I’ve ever seen him this frantic before. He was a mess when she was taken to Erudite but he usually had the same quite intensity that he always had. Now, his eyes are wide and scared. I’ve never seen him scared before.

            “She was shot. Caleb did what he could, there are some other Erudite in there now trying – “ I’m cut off when he makes his way toward the door and Uriah tries to hold him off.

            “You need to let them work!” Uriah shouts at him but Four tries to fight him off. Uriah is lucky he’s not at the top of his game at the moment because Four’s movements and jittery and sloppy.

            “You going in there will distract them from her. You need to let them work.” Uriah says as calmly as he can to Four. The door suddenly opens and all of us move out of the way.

            The Erudite doctors have Tris on their stretcher and start to wheel her toward the other door in the stairwell that leads out to the main area of Erudite. “We’re taking her to surgery now.”

            “No – Tris!” Four shouts and tries to get them to stop but they keep moving, rushing Tris out of sight.

 

**TOBIAS**

 

            Someone, I don’t know who, led me to this room. I think it is probably a study room. I don’t know, or care. It’s been hours since two Erudite men wheeled Tris past me. At least, it’s felt like hours.

            I started out pacing. Then I went to looking out the window on the other side of the room. But I quickly realized I would only be watching survivors of the fight carrying dead bodies out of the building so I moved to where I am now, sitting on the couch situated in the corner of the room with my head resting in my hands.

            When to door opens my head snaps up. I know how I must look; my hair a mess from my hands pulling at it, my clothing disheveled from the fight, and my eyes desperate for any good news. But I don’t care. All I care about is Tris.

            I’m somewhat disappointed when I see Caleb walk in. I know he won’t have any new information on Tris. He doesn’t say anything as he takes a seat next to me.

            “The bullet . . . it was right next to her heart. I did the best I could to stop the bleeding but she had already lost a lot of blood. Uriah went and got some for us to start a transfusion before the other doctors came in. That . . . it was all I could do.”

            I look at Caleb for a few moments. This is his way of trying to comfort me in the only way he can: by giving me any kind of information about how Tris may be doing right now. I nod my thanks and then lean my head back down in my hands.

            A few minutes later he blurts out, “My parents are dead.”

            I look up at him in shock, trying to make sense of his words. I didn’t see Tris’ parents during the fight and I didn’t see them after when we made our way up to the twelfth floor. I had hoped they were okay, though.

            “I’m sorry,” my voice is almost unrecognizable; it is rough and tired.

            “I know . . . I know I’ve made a lot of bad choices. I did a lot of things I shouldn’t have but ever since Beatrice escaped Erudite and I went to Amity I’ve tried to do whatever I could to make up for that. She’s my sister and she’s all I have left. When Evelyn shot her – “

            “ _Evelyn_ shot her? Evelyn Eaton?” I had assumed Jeanine fought back, or maybe she had guards with her and that was how Tris was shot. I knew, obviously, that the Factionless had shown up during the fight. They had a few weapons from Erudite but not enough to overpower us.

            “No one told you?” Caleb asks.

            “No,” I stand up and storm out of the door. I know the other leaders are in a room down the hall from mine trying to make some kind of cleanup plan. They locked Jeanine in one of the rooms on this floor so maybe Evelyn is in one as well.

            As I wander the halls of this floor I pass by a room with a Dauntless guard. “Is Evelyn Eaton in that room?” I ask him.

            “No. Jeanine Matthews. Evelyn is down the hall to the left.”

            I quickly make my way down the hall and to the left, just as the guard told me. I see another Dauntless standing guard outside of another door. That must be where Evelyn is.

            “I need to speak with her,” I tell him. He looks at me for a few moments, probably wondering if he is allowed to let me in or not. I make the decision easy on him as I push him out of the way and enter the room.

            “You tell me you’re sorry and that you want to fix things and then a month later you _shoot_ my wife?” I shout at her. She’s sitting on a couch with her hands cuffed together in her lap.

            Evelyn looks up at me and I expect some kind of remorse to be visible in her eyes. Even though I should know better.

            “You’ll get over her, Tobias. She was just a phase. We could still do it, overthrow – “

            “No! _We_ are not doing anything! You left me with _that man_ for years and only protected yourself. Then in the middle of a war you come to me and tell me you want to overthrow Erudite just like we do. Then you go behind my back and make a deal with Jeanine.” I don’t consciously make the decision, but suddenly my feet are carrying me closer to the couch Evelyn is sitting on. “And now the only person I truly care about is about to die because of you! What did I ever do to you to deserve this? Why – “

            The door opens and Zeke enters. He places himself between Evelyn and I; his arms are raised to show me he’s not a threat. “Come on, man. Lets get out of here,” he tries to grab my arm and lead me out of the room, but I shrug him off.

            “She could die! She could _die_ because of you!” I shout at her and it is the first time I’ve admitted that to myself. Tris could die before we get our happy ending. All of the fight leaves my body and I allow Zeke to drag me out of the room.

            A few minutes later Zeke has my body slumped on the couch in the same room I was in before. I bring my hands up to cover my mouth as silent tears run down my face.

            Zeke doesn’t leave, though. He sits next to me with a hand on my shoulder, never moving until the door opens to reveal the two Erudite members that wheeled Tris away.

 

**TRIS**

 

            _I woke up early and turned the alarm off before it could wake Tobias. With Christina’s help I found colorful streamers and a few balloons down in the pit. I got some tape and started hanging the streamers around our apartment wherever I could. It looked like a mess but I knew Tobias would get a laugh out of my attempt._

_Then came the balloons. It took me a few tries and one unfortunate experience in inhaling all of the air I had already gotten into the balloon before I got the hang of blowing them up._

_I looked at the clock and realized it was already later than I thought. I get back into bed and place my legs on either side of Tobias. I place soft kisses along his naked chest and up to his lips before he starts to wake up._

_“Happy birthday,” I whisper against his lips. His eyes slowly open and he takes in the scene around him; me sitting on his lap, the streamers covering the ceiling of our apartment, balloons everywhere, until they finally land on the alarm clock._

_“I have to – “_

_I push his chest back down when he starts to sit up. “No, you don’t. I talked to Zeke, he’s covering for you, today.”_

_Tobias flips me over so I’m on my back and he is hovering over me before he says, “Hmm. Then you’ll have to keep me entertained all,” he places a kiss to my left cheek, “day,” then another to my right cheek, “long.” Then his lips finally crash into mine._

_~.~.~_

_I see myself on a table with a group of Erudite surrounding me. They keep shouting things like, “We need more O neg!” and “It’s too close to the heart.”_

_I look around for anything to tell me what is actually going on but I get nothing. For a few minutes I’m forced to watch, what I assume, will be my death. Then I feel a hand on my shoulder._

_“Mom? Dad?” I say in shock. I see her and my father walk up next to me._

_They don’t say anything as they wrap their arms around me. I squeeze them back, hoping to make this moment last as long as possible because I don’t know what will happen next._

_“I love you,” I whisper to them. And then everything goes black._

~.~.~

 

            _Beep._

_Beep._

I don’t think I’ve ever heard a more annoying sound in my entire life. But, thankfully, a voice drowns it out for the most part.

            I know it’s him talking. Not only because of the sound of his voice, but because of what he talks to me about. He talks about our first kiss in the Chasm and how worried he was during my initiation.

            He tells me how he had this whole plan. That if I didn’t make it through initiation he would have left Dauntless with me and we would have lived Factionless together in an old abandoned house he found.

            He also recalls some of his favorite memories together. One of them was his birthday when I decorated the apartment with streamers and balloons. Tobias ends every story with, “Please wake up. Please don’t leave me.”

            It takes me a while, too long, before I can finally open my eyes. It is just a crack at first, but then I manage to open them wide enough to see around the entire room.

            There is a window to my right and it tells me that it is late, or early, enough to be dark outside. Then I look to down and see a head of brown hair lying down on the side of my bed. I feel his hand wrapped protectively around mine.

            I squeeze his hand with as much strength as I can get, which isn’t much. But, his hand squeezes mine back, almost reflexively. Because that wasn’t enough to wake him I manage to bring my other arm across my body and fun my fingers through his hair. I finally see him start to stir.

            “We should stop meeting in hospitals after these kinds of things,” I tell him. My voice is rough and cracks. I laugh a little bit at my own joke but stop as soon as I feel the pain in my chest.

            “You’re awake,” the relief is palpable in his tone. Tobias stands up and leans over me. He places the lightest kiss to my forehead, as if he is afraid if he applied any more pressure than that I would break.

            I try to sit up but even the slightest movement has me grimacing in pain. Tobias gently pushes me back into the bed.

            “No getting up. You’ll have to stay in bed for a few days, I think. They weren’t sure . . . They didn’t think you would wake up. They told me you wouldn’t wake up.” Tobias’ voice is the one that cracks this time. I take a moment to really look at him. I can see the bags under his eyes; he hasn’t been sleeping. His hair is a mess and I’m pretty sure he is in the same clothes from the day of the fight.

            “I’m sorry,” I tell him, hating that I put him through however many days of thinking I was dead. “How long have I . . .?”

            “Three days. I should probably go get a doctor . . . I’ll be right back.” Tobias stands and starts to leave before I stop him.

            “Tobias?” He turns around at the sound of my voice. “I love you.”

            Tobias smiles at me and says, “I love you, too,” before he leaves to go get a doctor.

            The doctor comes and tells me I’ll have to stay in the hospital, which I found out is just a level in Erudite headquarters, for at least a couple more days. The bullet was so close to my heart and I lost so much blood they want to monitor me to make sure everything is going smoothly after the surgery.

            A few minutes after the doctor leaves Caleb walks in slowly. Seeing him reminds me of the dream I had of my parents while I was out. 

            “They’re dead, aren’t they?” I ask him. Tobias squeezes my hand from his seat next to me.

            Caleb nods.

            Tears start to fall down the side of my face. Caleb comes over and takes my other hand. “Are you okay?” I ask him.

            “I’ll be okay, I’ve had a few days to process it. How are you?”

            “I kind of already knew. . . Almost dying is kind of weird. You’d think I would be used to it by now.”

            “I’m sorry – “

            “You don’t have to apologize anymore. It’s okay. You . . . worked on me after I was shot, right? I don’t remember much.”

            Caleb nods, “I had Lynn go and get supplies to help me try and stop the bleeding, then Uriah showed up and went to get some blood so I could start a transfusion. It wasn’t much – “

            “But it probably saved my life,” I can’t stop the yawn that escapes me as I continue talking.

            “You should get some sleep,” Tobias tells me. 

            “Will you stay?” I ask him, another yawn muffling my words.

            “Of course,” Tobias says with a chuckle. It’s the last thing I hear before I fall asleep again.

            The next morning I slowly start to wake up to the sound of hushed voices around me.

            “I’m gone for two minutes and you all sneak in here. She needs her rest; she can’t even sit up on her own. I don’t think a party – “

            “I don’t think you can really call this a party. We just want to celebrate the fact that, you know, she didn’t die!” I hear Uriah exclaim, much louder than Tobias’ words were.

            “If we’re holding ‘not dying parties’ now I get at least like, three more, right?” I ask from my spot in my bed as I open my eyes. All of the eyes in the room turn to me and I can finally see who all is here. Uriah and Tobias I already knew, and then there is Christina, Will, Lynn, Marlene, Shauna, and Zeke.

            There are already some streamers hung around the stale white room as well as some balloons floating around.

            “We only have enough stuff for one now, but we can –“ Uriah starts but stops when everyone starts to laugh at him.

            “It was a joke you pansycake,” Zeke laughs before ruffling Uriah’s hair.

            Tobias walks over and takes his spot next to me again. “I can kick them all out if you want.” He whispers to me after he places a kiss to my forehead.

            “No, it’s fine.”

            Christina walks over to me and stares down at me. “ _Don’t_ do that to me again. You’re my best friend and I refuse to let you leave me here with all of these idiots. Okay?”

            I smile up at her. “Okay. I’m sorry I worried you.”

            Then next hour is filled with happy chatter. It is a relief to see all of my friends here and alive after the last few days of stress.

            At a lull in the discussion I ask, “So, what happens now?”

            “Now, all people suspected of treason are going to go on trial. Then, we rebuild a city without factions. We don’t have all of the details ironed out yet, but that’s okay. I think a life with factions will kind of just come naturally to us. It’s weird, but it already feels right.” Zeke says with a relaxed smile on his face.

            “Now, we can relax and just _be_ ,” Tobias whispers to me. Repeating my words from a few days ago.

            “That sounds . . . amazing. And kind of terrifying.” I say, looking over at him. I smile when his bright eyes meet mine.

            “Don’t worry. We’ll get through it. Together.”


	27. Epilogue

_We are wild, we are like Young Volcanoes. ~ Fall Out Boy_

****

**ONE YEAR LATER**

It took a long time for things to settle down. Traitors were put on trial. Some of them executed while others were sentenced to time in prison. Both Evelyn and Jeanine were executed.

            I thought Tobias would be upset that his mother was being executed for her crimes, but he was too angry with her for all of the wrongs she had done. She left him with his father for years after she faked her own death. She tried to use him to overthrow Erudite just so she could rule the city with the Factionless. Then, she shot me after she knew I was his wife. I think that is the biggest reason he was so angry with her.

            I told him I didn’t want him to be angry with her over me. I was angry with her enough for the both of us. But, selfishly, I felt better after hearing how she acted when he went to visit her while I was still recovering. He got to see her true side for himself and make his judgment based off of that.

            Once all of the traitors had been tried Marcus was put on trial for his abuse against Evelyn and Tobias. He was sentenced to ten years in prison.

The prison used to be deep down in the Dauntless compound but another building was renovated to hold convicted traitors or other criminals.

A memorial was built for those who lost their lives during the war. We repaved an area in a park outside of Erudite and printed every name of a lost one there. People still leave flowers every once in a while. Caleb and I usually go once a month to visit our parents.

            For now, the city has a group of fifteen leaders everyone elected after the war including Tori, Tobias and myself. Three people from each former faction were elected so that we could work on rebuilding a world with equal values on bravery _and_ selflessness _and_ kindness _and_ intelligence _and_ honesty.

We only have so many leaders for the recovery time when things are still somewhat unstable. We don’t want anything like the past few months to ever happen again. Eventually we’ll cut back on the amount of leaders we have, but for now fifteen is needed.

            Zeke was fine with not being a leader anymore. It was never something he wanted. Now he helps train people who want to be part of the police force with Uriah and Will. They love it.

            School has resumed for kids sixteen and under. Caleb started teaching there the day the school reopened. It’s obvious he loves it. It’s nice to see him embracing his intelligent side for once and not being hurt by it.

Caleb and Susan started dating right when the war ended. They never told anyone but they spent some time together in Dauntless before we invaded Erudite. They didn’t want to get too close though, because they didn’t know how the attack would end.

Christina and I help organize relief efforts. We make sure supplies are distributed throughout the city and that people have enough to survive. We’re working on making places where people can come and get these things themselves, but we still have a lot of work to do.

            Tobias helps rebuild parts of the city that were falling apart whenever we’re not in meetings or doing any of our other responsibilities as leaders. Sometimes Zeke asks him to watch in on their training sessions to get his opinion on some techniques. I know he’s glad he doesn’t have to be the one training people anymore. Both of us are done with fighting.

            Instead of getting an apartment in one of the buildings in the center of the city like most of our friends, Tobias and I have a small house outside of the city. It’s nice to have so much space for ourselves. Our first few months there we spent each weekend making it feel like our own space. It was exhausting juggling all of our other responsibilities as well as getting our house together but it was worth it.

            Our house was us. It wasn’t Dauntless or Abnegation. It was a combination of our personalities that couldn’t be defined by one simple life choice.

            It is still strange having so many clothing options. In Dauntless I typically wore a tank top or t-shirt with jeans because it was easiest to move around in. Now, we can wear whatever we want in any color.

            You also get the chance to talk to more people. You no longer know their life values just by the color of clothing they wear.

            This new life is still a work in progress, but we’re getting there.

 

**THREE YEARS LATER**

           

            “When do you think you’ll be done tonight?” Tobias asks me as I search our living room for my left boot. I narrowed my search down to this room. I know it is in here somewhere.

            I lean down and look under the couch even though I’m pretty sure I already looked there. As I look both sides across the floor I see movement on the other side. The light is suddenly gone and I see Tobias’ face. He’s lying on the floor behind the couch, staring at me.

            “Can I help you?” I ask him.

            “Can _I_ help _you_?” he asks me with a smirk on his face. I huff and stand up from my crouch on the floor.

            “I can’t find my boot. I’ve searched every room in this house so it has to be in here . . . somewhere.” I look up at him and expect him to look around aimlessly like I have been doing for twenty minutes but Tobias walks right over to the chair in the corner and leans over the back. A few seconds later he leans back up and pulls my boot out from behind it.

            “How did you know it was there?” I ask him as I march over and take it out of his hands.

            Tobias’ hands wrap around my waist and pull my body flush against his. He leans his head down so his lips are right next to my ear.

            “I tossed it there last night as I slowly removed all of your clothing before I made you moan my name for a few hours. My apologies,” he whispers into my ear.

            “Oh,” I mutter. “Apology accepted,” I get out before his lips crash into mine. I drop my boot and place my hands on the back on his neck to keep him in place. A few minutes later he pulls us apart.

            “We have to get to work,” Tobias mumbles against my lips. I grumble for a moment before I lean down and put my boot on.

            We walk out and I get into the passenger side of our small car. Tobias learned how to drive shortly after the war. I never have. He drives us both to work everyday and then I usually get a ride home from Tori or Tobias will pick me up if we’re done at the same time.

            Tobias got reelected as a leader of our city. It was no surprise to anyone. We cut back to five leaders two years after the war; now its just Tobias, Johanna, Serena, James, and Amelia.

            During the election process I asked Tobias why he wanted to be a leader now but never wanted to be a Dauntless leader. He told me that being a leader of free people was a much more rewarding job than being a leader who was so controlling. Dauntless leaders had to kick people out of the faction once they reached a certain age and were unable to make their way through the compound. They had to watch initiates fail every year and become Factionless. He said that being a leader now is much more gratifying.

            Part of me thinks another reason he chose to stay on as a leader is to make sure we never revert back to the faction system again. He is always distrustful of people and their motives and that’s never going to change.

            “You never answered me earlier. When do you think you’ll be done tonight?” Tobias asks as we make our way to the tattoo parlor me and Tori opened once we were no longer leaders.

            “Shouldn’t be too late. We should be able to close at six. What about you?”

            “I should be able to pick you up,” Tobias tells me as he pulls into our shop. “I’ll see you tonight.”

            I unbuckle my seatbelt and lean over to place a quick kiss on his lips. “See you tonight.”

            As I enter the tattoo parlor I see Tori at her station already working on a customer. After we both decided to step down as leaders and not participate in the election process Tori approached me and asked me what I planned on doing. I hadn’t thought that far ahead, I just knew I didn’t want to be the leader of anything ever again.

            She asked me if I wanted to open this tattoo shop with her and I immediately said yes. It was a way to keep my Dauntless side in the new faction-less world. I didn’t want the factions back, but I loved my year of tattooing before the war and I couldn’t really see myself doing anything else.

            More people get tattoos, now. A lot of people got loved ones’ names who didn’t make it through the war. And then there were people who had always wanted tattoos but the factions made it impossible for them.

            A few weeks after Tori and I set up shop near the pier, Christina and Marlene started a clothing boutique right next to us. It’s nice to be able to see both of them so regularly even though we no longer all live in the same Dauntless compound.

            The day goes by fairly quickly. I do a couple tattoos; both of them are in the memory of a loved one lost.

            About an hour before we are set to close I hear the door open and look up from the calendar I was staring at. I see Iris walk in with a man I’ve never met. I don’t think I’ve even really seen her since the war ended.

            “Hello, Tris,” she says, her voice soft and almost uncertain.

            “Iris. How are you?”

            “Good. I was hoping you would be here today. Walt and I, well, we wanted to get rings tattooed around our fingers in place of wedding bands. And you . . . you’re probably the reason I’m alive, the reason a lot of people are alive, so I was hoping you would have time today?”

            It always makes me uncomfortable when people say things like that. When people say I’ve done so much for this city when all I really did was try and survive just like anyone else would have.

            “Of course, it shouldn’t take too long. Did you just want a simple circle around your fingers?” I walk around the front desk to stand in front of them and see both of them nod in answer to my question.

            “Okay, then. I’m Tris,” I hold my hand out to Walt and he gives it a firm squeeze.

            I walk them over to my station and tell them to decide who will go first while I get a new needle and ink set up. I turn around and see Iris sitting in the chair.

            “He’s a bit nervous. He was Amity and he’s never gotten a tattoo.” Iris says, smirking at the man sitting next to her.

            I laugh under my breath as I start to clean the skin around Iris’ ring finger.

            “It’s not bad, trust me. Plus it’ll take less than ten minutes, so it’ll be over quickly,” I tell him as I start to work on Iris’ ring.

            “I was there.” Walt suddenly blurts out. “That night in Amity when those three Dauntless traitors came looking for you. You came in there, ready to shoot yourself if they shot that boy . . . Tobias? Ever since then I’ve always wondered . . . would you have actually done it?” Walt asks me.

            Thankfully I’m done inking the ring around Iris’ finger because my hands start to shake. Both Tobias and I still have occasional nightmares about the things we have done in the past. They are things I prefer not to think about. I start to wrap up Iris’ finger as I answer him.

            “Yes. If Eric shot Tobias I would have shot myself.” I have no doubt that I would have. I think, after it happened, I told Tobias I was just doing it as a diversion. But seeing Eric kill Tobias right in front of me would have been too much. I would never have been able to live with it.

            As I am working on Walt’s tattoo he continues. “I thought so. After that . . . I always wanted to find someone I cared about that much. Someone I would rather die than be without. Then I found Iris and I didn’t have to search anymore.”

            The door opens again just as I am finishing up with Iris and Walt.

            “I can take – Oh, you’re probably not here for me, huh?” I hear Tori say and look up suspiciously. I see Tobias walking toward me.

            “I’m almost done,” I tell him as I tape the last piece of gauze over Walt’s finger.

            “Iris,” Tobias says, just as surprised to see her here as I was.

            “Hello Fo-Tobias?” she asks, unsure what to call him. He prefers to go by his real name now, but there are still a few Dauntless who call him Four. Tobias gives Iris a nod, letting her know she doesn’t have to call him Four.

            “It was nice to see you again, both of you,” Iris says before she gets up to leave.

            “It was nice to meet you Tris, Tobias. Thank you, for everything.” His ‘thank you’ is more than thanks for the tattoos, I can tell.

            “Think you’re up for at least one more tattoo tonight?” Tobias asks me once they’re gone. I look up at him, brows furrowed in confusion.

            “What?”

            Tobias sits down at my station and grabs a pencil and a piece of paper before writing something down and handing it to me. I look down at the piece of paper and see the words “We’re the beginning of the end” written on it.

            The night after my initiation into Dauntless flashes through my mind, Tobias sitting on that couch with the guitar in his lap, singing that song.

_When Rome’s in ruins, we are the lions_

_Free of the coliseums_

_In poison places, we are anti-venom_

_We’re the beginning of the end_

           

“That was us; you and I. We were the beginning of the end. We were the end of the factions and the end of the war. And I was thinking I could get it here,” he points to his bicep.

“Well, since I’m part of the “we” can I get it, too?” I ask him.

Tobias leans down and places a quick but passionate kiss to my lips. He pulls away and says, “Only if I get to do it.”

Tobias sits in the chair and I get everything set up for his tattoo. It doesn’t take long for me to tattoo the six words around his bicep. They form a nice circle around his arm.

I get everything ready for him to do my tattoo before we switch spots. “Do you remember how to do it?” I ask him. It has been almost four years since he did my IV tattoo.

“I’ve got it. Sit down,” he tells me and I plop down into the chair. I tell him I want it on my bicep, but running down. I get it on the inside of my arm. The arm with Dauntless flames on my shoulder.

 

**SEVEN YEARS LATER**

 

            Tobias and I are sitting in the waiting room of the doctor’s office. The past few months we’ve discussed the possibility of having a baby. The first moment the word ‘baby’ fell out of his mouth I’ve wanted a tiny little Tobias running around our house.

            But then I remembered everything my body has been through. Countless injections of things I don’t really even know and even worse things that I do know. I’ve been bruised and battered and shot. What if I can’t even carry a child?

            That’s why we’re here. To find out if everything is okay. We were in a few days ago for tests and they called us back to talk about our results. I stopped taking my pills a few months ago. When Christina and I first got them in Dauntless they told us that if we ever wanted to get pregnant it would take some time after we stopped taking them for all of it to be out of our system and for us to conceive.

            “Eaton?” A nurse calls.

            Tobias and I stand up and he grabs my hand, giving it a firm squeeze as we follow the nurse back into the doctor’s office.

            Dr. Evergreen greets us and tells us to take a seat. When they told us to come in to talk about the results I knew something was wrong. Why couldn’t they just tell us over the phone?

            “Tris, Tobias, how are you doing?”

            “We’re okay. Nervous,” Tobias tells her.

            I know he had reservations about having a child even though he was the one who brought it up. He’s terrified he’ll turn into his father. I was quick to shut down that train of thought in him. I’ve had the unpleasant opportunity to spend time with Marcus Eaton in the past. Tobias is nothing like that man.

            “Lets get to it, then. Tris . . .” my mind goes fuzzy then. I can only make out a few things that the doctor says, like, “It’s possible you’re incapable,” and “keep trying, though.”

            I’m lost in my own mind the entire ride back to our home. Before I know it I’m sitting on our couch with Tobias kneeling down in front of me with his hands resting on my knees.

            “Are you okay?” he asks me.

            “No. We’ll never . . .” I can’t even finish my sentence.

            “Tris, did you listen to anything the doctor said?”

            “I got pieces of it.”

            “She said that yes, there is a slight chance the damage done to your body could prevent pregnancy. But, it’s a very slight possibility. You’ve only been off of the pill for a few months. She said to keep trying and that she thinks she’ll be seeing us again. When you’re pregnant.”

            I look up at Tobias and can’t stop the smile that spreads across my face.

            “Besides, trying is the fun part,” he adds with a smirk of his own.

            My arms immediately wrap around his neck and bring his lips to mine. There is nothing soft or gentle about it. Tobias stands and takes me with him. My arms stay wrapped around his neck and once he is completely upright my legs wrap themselves around his waist.

            Tobias places his hands on the back of my thighs before he starts to walk to our bedroom. Once we get there he sits me on the edge and untangles himself from me.

            Tobias stands above me and looks down at me. Both of his hands run his fingers through my hair and tilt my head up to look at him, too.

            “Everything will work out,” he tells me before his lips crash into mine. His hands quickly reach down and remove my t-shirt and bra quickly.

            I start to scoot back on the bed and pull Tobias along with me. His body fits perfectly over mine and as soon as we’re settled I reach down and remove his shirt.

            I kiss along his shoulder and up his neck. I take a moment to breathe in his scent. It’s warm and comforting and as long as I have it around me I know I’ll be safe.

            Tobias’ arms travel down my sides and then back up to my breasts. His hands give them a firm squeeze before his mouth descends on one of them. He pays each one equal attention before moving his mouth lower, across my stomach.

            Tobias halts when he reaches the center of my stomach and places the lightest kiss to my skin before he continues down. His hands make quick work of the button and zipper of my jeans before I am completely bare in front of him.

            He stands and drops my last articles of clothing to the floor before I hear the zipper of his jeans and then a thump as they fall to the floor, too.

            Tobias’ hands slowly trace up my legs as he crawls over me again. My mouth securely attaches itself to his just as he enters me in one, smooth thrust.

            “Tobias,” I moan out. I can feel the stress from the day floating away with each of his thrusts. As Tobias’ thrusts get harder and faster my fingers ding into the skin of his back.

            Tobias has his head nestled into the crook of my neck as he sucks on the skin there. I know he’s probably leaving a mark and I know Christina will tease me about it later but all I care about at this moment is the feel of him moving inside of me.

            My climax comes over me suddenly and my hips jut up to meet Tobias’ thrusts as he comes, too.

            Half an hour later Tobias is lying on his back and I’m resting my head on his chest, listening to his steady heartbeat.

            “We should probably try again, just to be safe.”

 

**TEN YEARS LATER**

 

            “I need you,” I say, breathlessly, and I burst into Christina and Marlene’s boutique that is next to Tori and mines tattoo parlor.

            I see Christina sitting behind a counter in the back. She looks up at me when I enter.

            “What’s wrong?” she asks me.

            “I need you,” I say again and walk over, grab her hand, and pull her with me.

            “Marlene, I’m taking Christina!” I shout. I know Marlene is probably in the back so hopefully she heard me. I drag Christina out of the store and we make our way through town.

            After a few minutes of me dragging Christina she stops behind me.

            “Okay, tell me what’s going on.”

            I sigh and drop her hand. I turn around and face her before looking around to make sure no one is around to overhear.

            “I think I’m pregnant. And I don’t know what to do. I can’t tell Tobias yet, I don’t want him to get his hopes up if I’m not and I just –“

            “Okay, calm down. You’re freaking out. We’ll go to the store and get one of those weird pregnancy tests they have and then depending on what it says you can tell Tobias and then go to the doctor to get a more definitive answer. Okay?”

            I take a deep breath and nod. “Okay. Yes. Good idea. I knew there was a reason I liked you.”

            Christina just laughs at me before she starts to pull me toward the store. Once we get there we stand in front of the pregnancy tests. There’s just one kind, so thankfully it’s an easy choice. I grab one, but then Christina grabs five more boxes.

            “What are you doing?” I ask her.

            “You need to take more than one, just to make sure. Come on,” she says before she starts to walk to the front of the store with her arms full of pregnancy tests.

            Half an hour later Christina and I are sitting in the bathroom attached to Tobias and mine’s bedroom. There are six different tests sitting on the counter but I can’t bring myself to look at them. More than enough time has passed; they should all have a result on them.

            I stand up and make another attempt to look at them but then quickly sit back down.           

            “I can’t! I can’t do it. You do it,” I tell Christina and push her towards them. Just as she’s reaching for one of the tests I shout, “No! Don’t look,” and I pull her away.

            “Wow, I don’t know if I’ve ever seen you so freaked out . . . It’ll be fine Tris. Whatever these tests say, it’ll be okay.”

            I take a few deep, calming breaths before I finally look at the tests.

            “I’m pregnant,” I mutter under my breath as I look at all of the plus signs on every test.

            “You’re pregnant?” Christina repeats, her voice raising multiple octaves. I nod.

            “You’re pregnant!” she shouts before hugging me. My arms wrap around her and we stand there and cry together.

            “How are you going to tell him?” Christina asks me after we’ve both calmed down a little bit. As soon as she asks a plan starts to form in my head.

            “I have an idea, but I’ll need your help.”

            We spend the rest of the day preparing my surprise for Tobias. We finish just about an hour before he should be back home.

            “Thanks for helping me, today,” I tell Christina as she gets ready to leave.

            “I’m really happy for you guys, Tris. I can’t wait to meet this little one,” she says as she pokes my stomach. “I’m going to be the coolest aunt ever, just you wait.”

            Twenty minutes later I have my things packed up and a note left for Tobias on the counter with where to meet me.

            I make my way through the city and to our meeting spot. It’s getting colder out, so not a lot of people are here, which is good. I set my basket down and wait for Tobias.

            I don’t have to wait long. I see him walking toward me and can already tell he’s confused as to why I’ve asked him here. I smile and pick up my box before pressing the button that powers on the Ferris wheel beside me.

            “What’s going on?” Tobias asks as he reaches me. I say nothing as I grab his hand and lead him over to one of the pods that are attached to the wheel. They’re already moving, but slow enough for us to be able to get on without any trouble. Tobias hesitates for a moment before following me into the pod.

            I pull him down to sit next to me as I place my bag on the floor. I pull out the container that has a piece of the chocolate cake Christina and I made earlier and hand it to him, along with a fork.

            “Here you go,” I tell him.

            “Um, thanks. What’s with all of this?” Tobias asks, looking around at the Ferris wheel.

            “I had something to tell you.”

            “Okay. . . What is it?”

            “It’s pretty important.”

            “Tris! What is it?”

            I sit back and smile at him for a few seconds before I tell him, “I’m pregnant.” His eyes go wide as the words leave my mouth, but he doesn’t say anything at first.

            “Are you sure?”

            “I took six different tests. We wont know for sure until we go to the doctor, but . . .”

            “You’re pregnant,” the words fall out of his mouth and seconds later I hear the container with the cake in it and his fork fall to the ground. Tobias’ arms wrap around me and pull me over to him so my legs are straddling his lap.

            His arms are wrapped so tightly around me I can barely breathe but I don’t care. I pull back enough to look at his face and see a few unshed tears in his eyes.

            “I love you,” I whisper to him.

            “I love you, too.”

I smile at him. Twelve years ago when I jumped off of the roof into the Dauntless compound and saw him standing there I never would have pictured us here. I never would have pictured us here after I made it through initiation, or during the war, or even the first few years after it. But, there is nowhere else I would rather be.

           

**THE END**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That is the conclusion of Young Volcanoes! I will (eventually) write another Divergent story called Bleeding Out. I was originally going to start it a while ago, but I've had a small falling out with Divergent. I'm sure once I see the movie again when it's out on DVD I'll be inspired to write again! Until then, here is a brief summary of Bleeding Out:  
> They told me she was shot. They said her body was property of the Bureau and wouldn’t allow me to see her. Then one day, three years later, I got a call from Matthew. Allegiant alternate ending
> 
> Yes, I know things like that have been done before but, trust me, mine is completely different.


	28. Sequel Preview

DISCLAIMER: All rights to _Divergent_ belong to Veronica Roth. No copyright infringement intended.

****

**_The Last Of The Real Ones_ **

**PROLOGUE (Preview)**

 

The wind blows my hair around my face making me think, for the hundredth time today, that I should just cut it again. Again, as in like I did thirteen years ago as I was running from Erudite to save my life.

            The memory makes my stomach tighten and I forget all thoughts about cutting my hair.

            I sit on a soft blanket in the middle of Memorial Park, a small area surrounding the war memorial we created so long ago. It has become a favorite spot of Tobias and I to meet for lunch. Ever since Drew was born eight months ago Tobias has insisted we meet him for lunch whenever possible. Drew and I got here early to get the best spot, right in the middle of the park.

            I get the sudden feeling that I’m being watched. Assuming it is Tobias, I turn around with a smile, and am met with blue eyes. But they’re not the shining blue eyes of my husband.

            I swear, for a moment, the eyes of his father were staring at me from the darkness of the bushes behind us. But when I try to get a better look, they’re gone.

            I shake off my nerves, because this is not the first time this has happened to me. I often think I see my parents walking through the crowd, or Harrison grumbling with a group of former dauntless down the street.

            Those things will never happen again though.

            I’ll never see my parents again, and Harrison will never walk the streets with his friends either. While Marcus was released from prison three years ago, he has never tried to get in contact with Tobias, so I have no reason to believe he would be stalking me from the bushes.

            I sigh and try to shake my mind of all of the sad thoughts.

            Tobias approaches then, and a grin instantly appears on his face when he sees Drew.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, hi there! I know this isn’t a new Young Volcanoes chapter, but it is a preview of its upcoming SEQUEL. I’ve got a pretty exciting story planned for these two, so I hope there are still a few of you who are interested.   
> I have a complete prologue ready to go, but won’t start actively posting this story until my Allegiant alt. ending is complete (remember that story Bleeding Out I told you all about like 3 years ago? I finally wrote it! Head over to my profile to check it out!). I just wanted to get a feel from you guys if this was even something you wanted. I have the full prologue already posted (just head to my profile to find the story). If this is something you guys want to read, please leave a review and let me know.   
> I know it’s been years since YV, so I don’t want to put this effort into a sequel if people aren’t interested.   
> As always, thank you for the love you showed this story. It exceeded my wildest dreams. – DR13


End file.
